*Fin*

I find myself a bit wordless — teary, as if I’m standing before a magnificent painting — when I read the end of this magnificent novel.

In a departure from the usual plot talk-throughs, I decided to do something different this week. I simply read chapter 34 to you, my dear friends, who embarked on this ambitious read-a-long journey with me.

Cheers to the stories that make up our lives, and to the literature that inspires us to sit down for 45 minutes and read the prose aloud.

I don’t speak French, so you’ll please forgive me for my horrible pronunciations throughout Archer’s visit to Paris?

I’m an imperfect reader, here, and didn’t take time to re-record every stumble and sniffle. In part, because I don’t have the tech savvy for audio editing. But also, in larger part, because I hoped to capture a really authentic reading for you — one that might feel like we’re sitting together and chatting about the book, preferably beside an enormous fireplace with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a pot of decaf.

I hope you found the ending as moving as I find it; that it gave you a new perspective on these people and what they endured together, and lived out together, and the choices they made. Something about that unexpected 26-year leap feels so perfectly crafted for a story that has been so much about immediacy, urgency, and desire.

(And okay, yes, fine: I did re-record the final paragraph because I kept getting all choked up and blubbery into the microphone. Sigh.)

Thank you for reading with me.

I’ll see you later this week for the final reading guide to the final chapter of The Age of Innocence.

For all my close readers: if you’d like me to send you a postcard to celebrate reaching the end of the novel, please send me a DM here on Substack or fill out this form!