The Echo of Old Books: A Novel

Hemi grows increasingly surly about Belle’s reluctance to end her engagement to Teddy. He accuses Belle of playing games again, and not being willing to give up a lifestyle she has grown up with by marrying a man with limited prospects.

Belle is upset that Hemi doesn’t understand her situation and remembers how her father strong-armed her into the engagement. He announced one evening that she would be marrying Teddy, slapping her when she resisted. Later that evening, Cee-Cee warned Belle that she would end up like their mother if she kept resisting their father’s plans. Their father is concerned with family duty above all else; he has no problem getting rid of people who prove troublesome to him.

After a week of not hearing back from Ethan, Ashlyn finally drives up to his house in Rye. Her plan is to leave Forever, and Other Lies covered in sticky notes with her questions in his mailbox. However, Ethan sees her, and after she explains why she is at the house, he invites her in. He explains that he never received her messages, as he had his phone turned off the entire week, while he was writing. Ethan asks Ashlyn to join him for a meal as she fires off her questions and thoughts about Goldie, Marian, and Steven Schwab. As Ashlyn prepares a salad alongside Ethan, she notes how unexpected and yet comfortable the situation feels.

As they eat, Ashlyn tells Ethan about Martin Manning’s illegal fortune and political views. Ethan doesn’t seem surprised. He, in turn, tells her about how his mother, Catherine, was fond of Marian; the latter encouraged Richard to marry Catherine, despite his family’s disapproval. Ethan and Ashlyn reveal part of their own romantic histories to each other, discovering that they were both once married to spouses who were unfaithful.

Ethan reveals that he once met Marian’s children when he was young, and Ashlyn is surprised to discover they were Jewish. Marian converted for their sake, and Ethan suddenly remembers there was a newspaper article that reported on this. They hunt for it in Richard’s old study and find it in a scrapbook. Ethan opines this is what finally led Martin to write Marian out of his will and cut all ties with her. They also find family photos of Corinne and her husband, and Marian with her children, Zachary and Ilese.

Ashlyn suggests they try and track Marian down, if she is still alive, to return the books to her. Ethan is reluctant but agrees to read more of Belle’s story. Ashlyn leaves the book with him before she heads home to read the rest of Hemi’s.

When Belle next arrives at the apartment, Hemi confronts her about her wedding date announcement in the papers. A shocked Belle promises she had nothing to do with this, asserting it is Cee-Cee’s doing. Hemi demands that Belle call the paper and retract the announcement, but she tearfully claims she can’t. Hemi asks her to marry him, suggesting that they leave town together; he will give up his job at the newspaper, too. Belle accepts.

Hemi and Belle begin making plans to leave for San Francisco. He says nothing to Goldie, because he believes she has lost her objectivity; even though the article he has been working on has taken a disturbing turn, Goldie wants to move forward with it. Hemi is sure Belle’s resolve wavers occasionally, but she promises him she is sure of her decision. Hemi remembers the new suitcase she bought for their departure, stamped with her new initials, and in retrospect regrets pinning his hopes on the suitcase.

The day before Hemi and Belle are set to leave New York, Hemi talks to Goldie. She is furious that Hemi is leaving the newspaper before finishing the article, and that he is refusing to be a part of the “ghoulish speculation meant to bring a man to his knees” (214). Goldie concludes Belle is the cause of Hemi’s sudden reluctance and throws him out of the office, ordering him to leave the story notes for his replacement. Hemi lies that he has shredded them all.

When Hemi returns to the apartment, however, he finds Belle reading his story notes. He asserts that he was about to explain everything, but she is angry about the things he has written about her mother, accusing him of twisting the truth. However, Hemi reveals that all of it is true: Helene was Jewish, and Belle’s father had her put away for it and abetted her suicide. Helene had attempted suicide a few times before her final “accident.” The day before she died, Belle’s father made an unscheduled visit to the institute. After he spoke to the janitors, a utility knife somehow ended up in Helene’s room.

Months ago, one of Helene’s friends contacted Goldie with these details. Helene had confided in this friend, when she was alive, about her worry that her husband would try and do something to her. Helene’s friend didn’t say anything for years, as her husband was one of Belle’s father’s associates. He eventually passed away, and Helene’s friend decided to come forward after she read something antisemitic in the newspapers, remembering that Helene’s husband had made similar comments, praising Hitler as a visionary. Although the janitor at the institute is now dead and cannot confirm Helene’s husband’s involvement in her death, the staff remember him bragging about how he “cashed in on the French lady” (221).

Despite Hemi’s assertion that he followed up on every lead and did all the research to confirm the details, Belle still believes he and Goldie created parts of the story to sell tabloids. Even with Hemi’s revelation that he quit the newspaper and isn’t turning over his story notes, Belle feels betrayed by him hiding the truth from her and using her mother’s illness against her father. Hemi, in turn, is shocked that Belle is defending her father at all. Belle claims that her trust in Hemi is irrevocably broken, and that it would be a mistake for them to go away together now. She leaves, refusing to answer Hemi’s query as to whether she will be at the station the next day.

Ethan invites Ashlyn over on a Sunday afternoon, and she arrives with Regretting Belle, so they can swap books. Ethan notices and asks about a scar on Ashlyn’s palm that runs across her lifeline. Ashlyn uncomfortably explains that she got it the night Daniel died. He was hit by a van carrying a sheet of glass that shattered on impact; one of the shards flying through the air cut her hand.

Ethan takes Ashlyn up to the study to show her some letters and photos that Marian sent his father. There are pictures of her children, with Zachary holding a violin in one, and a letter that mentions his education at Berklee College of Music. Ethan shows Ashlyn a newspaper article about a violinist named Zachary Manning, revealing that Zachary grew up to be a performer; Ethan has discovered that Zachary now lives in Chicago, where he plays with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ashlyn and Ethan discuss contacting Zachary to find out whether Marian is still alive; after reading her book, Ethan has changed his mind about finding Marian.

While putting everything back, Ashlyn picks up one of Ethan’s books, which has echoes of self-doubt and turmoil; inside is an inscription from his father, urging him to be brave. Ashlyn asks him about it, and he reveals Richard gave him the book during a tough time in his life. Ethan was offered a three-book deal that he turned down because he didn’t want to write the kind of mainstream content the publisher wanted. His ex-wife was livid that he turned down the money and fame the books would have brought and went on to have an affair.

Ashlyn appreciates Ethan’s bravery, and he asks her about Daniel. She briefly details what happened, and Ethan offers his sympathies. When he takes Ashlyn’s hand, she becomes flustered and reveals she is out of practice with flirting, as there has been no one since Daniel. Ethan reveals it has been the same for him and promises to go slow with whatever is brewing between them.

Ethan calls Ashlyn at the store. He has read ahead and is struggling to process some parts of the story, especially events surrounding Helene and Martin. Ashlyn and Ethan discuss how the story is heading toward a tragic ending, although Ashlyn’s gut tells her there is more to what happened than they know. She suggests they read the rest of the books together, each of them reading aloud to the other from Belle’s and Hemi’s accounts, respectively. Ethan agrees, calling it a date, and suggests that they start right away over the phone. Ashlyn begins reading from Forever, and Other Lies.

Belle returns home but is unable to stop thinking about Hemi’s revelations. She confronts Cee-Cee about Helene being Jewish, and Cee-Cee confirms this, defending their father’s decision to send her away because she was weak. She knows about the suicide attempts, too; however, she is rattled by Belle’s suggestion that Helene’s death was orchestrated by their father. Cee-Cee warns Belle about telling people this, revealing she knows about Belle’s affair with Hemi. Their father doesn’t know, and Cee-Cee doesn’t care, as long as the engagement with Teddy still stands. She thinks Hemi is a distraction and that he used Belle for his work.

Torn and weeping, Belle takes to her room to pen two letters. Cee-Cee comes in and is uncharacteristically sympathetic. She claims she is only trying to protect Belle and asks to put the harshness behind them. Belle thanks Cee-Cee for her warmth, and, on her suggestion, goes to wash up and take some medicine for her headache. Cee-Cee is still hovering when Belle returns, turning down Belle’s sheets and promising to send tea up for her. After Cee-Cee leaves, Belle returns to her letters.