The Unhoneymooners

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-13

Chapters 14-17

Chapter 18-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Talismans and Tokens

Olive is obsessed with the idea of good and bad luck, seeing herself almost as perpetually cursed. Ethan’s less serious attitude underlines a key difference in their characters and illuminates another aspect of this theme. When Olive and Ethan are getting to know one another more seriously during their trip, she discovers that he carries a lucky penny. He brings it out to manage his fear of flying, Ethan explains to her that it is a rare coin he received as change by chance, the day he had a successful job interview. Once they arrive in Hawaii, Ethan makes a habit of tossing coins into fountains, often associated with making wishes for luck (104). He does the same after seeing his ex-girlfriend Sophie at the resort, rejecting the idea that the encounter is somehow Olive’s doom being passed onto him (118). Ethan tells Sophie at their next meeting that Olive, his new wife, is superior to his penny. Later, Ethan reinforces his more casual attitude toward luck by suggesting Olive need not be an optimist like Ami, but that her sense of perpetual impending doom may be unwarranted. Ami makes the same attempt, angrily telling Olive that she uses the idea of bad luck to avoid responsibility. Olive’s journey is not the letting go of an external talisman, but the embrace of the idea she can make her own choices.

Instead of a belief in luck, Ethan uses personal symbols as memories— he tells Olive that he carries his penny to remind him of the day he got it, not as a ward against evil. Ethan continues to rely on talismans as memory in his quest to get Olive back: he dresses in Hawaiian theme, including the mai-tai cocktails they drank together. She discovers he has had a tank top made out of her hideous bridesmaids’ dress. Ethan tells Olive, “‘the only thing better than you in that dress was you out of it’” and her riposte that “‘even someone as cute as you can’t pull it off’” clues him in that they may be about to reconcile (377). Ethan’s use of talismans reminds Olive that even if he does not believe in luck, he does believe in them as a couple.

Contests and Competition

Contests define much of the novel’s trajectory, especially the relationship between Olive and Ethan. Ami has paid for most of her wedding via contest prizes and other winnings, including the bridesmaids’ dresses that lead Ethan comment not only on the ugly color, but also to imply Olive is striking in a form-fitting gown. The rules of a contest provide the excuse for Olive and Ethan to wind up in close proximity, as Ami’s nonrefundable Hawaiian getaway goes to the two of them instead.

Olive and Ethan begin the novel as enemies, and this primarily takes the form of verbal sparring. He routinely pretends not to know her name, and she reciprocates. This escalates to the point where she calls him “Ezra” and he calls her “Odessa” (215), though it becomes increasingly playful as time goes on. Ethan even proposes to Olive without using her real name, instead opting for the soundalikes of “Oscar Olivia Torres” (395). Olive and Ethan wind up competing for who will win the use of the hotel room’s single bed, as first Ethan wins by agreeing to dinner with the Hamiltons, only to discover he must trade his victory for Olive pretending to be his wife around Sophie. Olive and Ethan play paintball on the same team, though she had hoped to best him— and this moment of cooperation leads to a serious conversation between them about Sophie and what Ethan wants out of a relationship.

Ethan later accuses Olive of being bitter at Ami’s greater conventional successes, when he is upset about her report of Dane’s flirting with her (313). In effect, he arguess that her competitive nature is clouding her judgment and hurting her relationships. When Dane is proven to be an unfaithful and deceptive partner, Ethan realizes that Olive was never trying to win a game with him or their siblings, but merely working toward a painful truth. This ends the final misunderstanding between them and the rest of their verbal sparring is playful and low stakes, signifying the end of the narrative’s main conflict.

Travel Growth

Though Olive admits that a Hawaiian vacation would be appealing in general, part of the reason she rushes to take the trip from Ami is its contrast with her current surroundings and life circumstances. She has recently been laid off and has yet to find another job, and also has no roommate to split expenses with. It is currently winter in the Twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, so it is hard to imagine a starker contrast with Hawaiian beaches. While Olive at first basks in the luxury surroundings, the time in nature also leads to bonding with Ethan: the two companionably snorkel together, and Olive is surprised to discover she feels protective of Ethan when he gets seasick on the boat. Their excursions are often cause for conversation and bonding: their drive up the coast leads to the two of them taking pictures of each other, realizing they are both relaxed and happy in their new setting, and with one another. After this, Ethan gets companionably drunk in front of Olive, discussing his past relationships and ultimately revealing that he has always been interested in her.

Olive finds herself, upon return, facing the consequences of her vacation in more ways than one. She admits her deception to Mr. Hamilton, which leads to her pursuing a career change after she is fired. She and Ethan must face their tension over Dane and Ami’s relationship and his unwavering loyalty to his brother despite her reservations about him. After her fight with her sister over Dane’s behavior, Olive reflects that she has brought the changes from Hawaii back with her and hopes that Ami will eventually see this. Ethan dresses in Hawaiian tourist garb and brings a bar glass to Olive’s workplace, to show her he is still the man she fell for and ask for another chance. In the epilogue, they take the same journey again, now a couple making long-term plans and happily in sync with each other. A journey to a new place catalyzes their relationship and a final one assures the reader that it remains strong.