I think women’s sexuality gets deeper, stronger and more interesting as we get older – I mean, hopefully it does! Women above 50 are totally dismissed in so many different ways, but it’s not uncommon for a woman Elle’s age to have two men completely in love with her; it’s just that people don’t seem to write about that. In the wake of the book’s released, the debate over explaining the ending has become increasingly feverish. There are entire forum threads dedicated to it, in fact, on Reddit and Goodreads, with many people asking the same question: who did Elle choose? This was like a bad rash. Irritated the living daylights out of me and wouldn't go away. I should have DNF'ed it but I admit to a morbid curiosity to find out who she'd choose. Below you will find my thoughts as to what happens at the end of book – the The Paper Palace ending explained.

The main plot point happens before the novel even starts with the main character reminiscing about the night before. Even though I didn’t experience the event alongside the main character, I was consumed and invested immediately within the first chapter. This is a true testament of powerful writing! Team, i (2022-04-21). "Miranda Cowley Heller: 'I write in a big old barn looking over the treetops on Cape Cod' ". inews.co.uk . Retrieved 2023-02-06. What I took from that chapter in my life was how to write real dialogue. People don’t lead each other in conversation, they often repeat each other. It’s the unsaid, the spaces in between, that are so cool. And of course I visualise everything very filmically. It's beautifully written with insights that resonated so much with me. I loved all of the characters and wanted to spend more time with them, even those who were meant to be unlikeable. The coastal setting in Cape Cod was the perfect place for the story to unfold, with the 'Paper Palace' house feeling like a character in its own right. Secrets are at the heart of the novel: the acts that create them, the decisions to keep them hidden. What is the outcome of keeping secrets and how do we see that play out within the novel? Why do you think Elle keeps the secrets that she does from her family? From Peter? Think of a time when you kept a secret. Was it harmful or helpful?

In addition, it was pointed out to me that making a well-intentioned but badly worded comment about a fictional character’s choices or reactions can be hurtful to survivors of trauma. There are clues, and potential red herrings, woven throughout The Paper Palace, about its ending. The entire novel dwells on marriage and its frailties. Unhappy marriages run their way through the book as they do Elle’s heritage: her grandparents married three times a-piece; her mother Wallace had reams of lovers; her father had three wives. “In my day, we simply divorced and remarried,” Wallace quips. “So much simpler. Refreshing, even. Like buying a new suit of clothes.” When she takes off her wedding ring – “I squeeze it tight against my life line one final time before leaving it behind me on the step and heading down the path to take my swim” – is Elle protecting it from loss, or walking away from her marriage? Miranda Cowley Heller, 59, grew up in New York in a literary and artistic family. She worked as a ghost writer, book doctor and associate editor at Cosmopolitan magazine before becoming senior vice-president and head of drama series at HBO, where she developed shows including The Sopranos and The Wire. Her newly published debut novel, The Paper Palace, is a tense, evocative tale of guilt and forgiveness whose fans include Meg Wolitzer and William Boyd. It pivots on heroine Elle Bishop’s dilemma: to stay with the husband she loves or pursue the life she always imagined sharing with another man, before tragedy intervened. A central theme of this beautifully written, character-driven, slow burn novel is love. At the very core, it is a love story. A family love story. A love story with nature. A secret illicit love story. Thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. I'll post that review upon publication.

A beautifully constructed, wonderfully intelligent and beguiling novel, rich with a multitude of pleasures.” —William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart The fact that she’s taking her wedding ring from Peter off “one last time” could also mean that she will be leaving it on going forward

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This one’s filled with secrets, love, lies and a summer beach house. What more could you ask? —” Parade,“Best Beach Reads” I found this article by RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) on speaking with survivors of sexual assault and abuse really helpful and hope you do too. Spoiler Discussion for The Paper Palace Please note that the victims and survivors of these horrors are children and that these topics/related scenes come up repeatedly. In The Paper Palace, desire and duty are put to the test when Elle Bishop has to choose between the life she always believed she was meant to have with her oldest friend Jonas, and the life she has with her loving husband Peter. Compare and contrast Elle’s relationship with both. What does she get from each?

Elle promised Jonas she’d let him know if she was going to get married, then got engaged without telling him. Jonas subsequently gets married too. This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart Daily Mirror

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So what made Elle decide to sleep with Jonas after all these years? She had plenty of opportunities. Both of them were in Cape Cod nearly every summer. They know each other’s spouses and families. They both seem to have ties to New York, so they could easily run into each other there, or arrange to meet. How does the book’s inclusion of three generations of Elle’s family history give insight into the choices she makes? If I’d read this book in my twenties, I would have had a much different opinion than I do reading it now. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nan McNamara, who's voicing skills are so perfect each character's voice truly held a different sound and quality. It was an amazing theatrical voicing performance that shouldn't be missed! The next summer, Jonas spends the summer in Maine instead of on the Cape. Leo moves out and Wallace miscarries their baby.

As argued above, the fact that she does NOT admit to sleeping with Jonas is important. It would be the perfect opening to admit it to Peter. It would be so easy for her to agree with Peter that yes, she did it and she’s leaving him. But she doesn’t say that. Elle runs into Jonas’s mother in Cape Cod, who congratulates her on her upcoming wedding (apparently reported to her by Wallace.) Jonas’s mom says that he is also getting married, to Gina. Jonas and Elle argue again about her disappearing on him. Elle marries Peter. The book really touches on bad decisions made to try and protect the people you love. It’s especially poignant when it’s the young trying to protect their elders. Elle feels horribly guilty but reflects on her family history, which includes her mother being sexually abused by her stepfather and Elle being raped at age sixteen by her stepbrother, Conrad. The novel’s ending is a reflection of the complexities of relationships and the struggles of trying to find the right path in life. Elle’s decision is not a clear-cut one, and the reader is left to ponder on the possibilities of what could have happened. The ending is a reflection of the complexities of life and the struggles that we all face in trying to find our place in the world.Well I've set a record with this one. Sometimes I DNF early, usually around 25%, sometimes before that; but I quit here in the middle of the 3rd sentence. If you are a person who is impressed by overwritten slush, stop reading here and walk away. Or in your preferred langue du commerce, relinquish the tome in your bejeweled, alabaster digits and prance haughtily from this verbose online chamber of literary enlightenment. With your chapeau atilt. Miranda Phillips Cowley Heller (born in 1961 or 1962) [1] is a writer, novelist, and TV developer. She is known for her debut novel, The Paper Palace, which was published in 2021 to acclaim. A commenter on this post made a very important point: that talking about fictional characters’ experiences with trauma, sexual assault and sexual abuse can be extremely triggering to those who are survivors. If this is a book club choice, you might want to let members know.