52 pages • 1 hour read
The Good Part
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Gratitude and Appreciation for the Present
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains mention of child loss.
The novel’s fundamental conflict arises from the fact that Lucy is discontent with where she is at 26. This is what drives her to wish she could “skip to the good part” of her life (36)—a decision she almost immediately regrets, as she comes to realize that she has deprived herself of the experiences along the way that give meaning to success.
For instance, without her challenging dating history, including encounters with people like Dale, Lucy would not be able to fully appreciate what an amazing partner Sam is for her. This idea arises in a conversation Lucy has with Faye about Sam, in which Faye says, “All I’m saying is, you have been on a journey to get here, and it’s all connected because if Toby hadn’t broken your heart, you might never have come back home, and you wouldn’t have met Sam” (275). By pointing out the challenges that Lucy had to overcome to arrive in her forties with many of the things she had always wanted, Faye helps Lucy understand that the hard times have great value. Even though her twenties are difficult and she struggles, it is because of those struggles that Lucy can start her company and a family with Sam.
Likewise, Lucy is heartbroken that she cannot remember her and Sam’s baby, Chloe, who died at two weeks old. She sees the depth of Sam’s grief, and she feels guilty that she does not remember Chloe and frustrated that she does not get to experience the closeness that Sam and Future Lucy felt as they mourned together. Sam says to Lucy, “You made me promise we’d keep saying Chloe’s name, so part of her would always be here with us. I think that’s why you are not remembering her feels particularly cruel” (287). By skipping this experience, Lucy creates unwanted distance between herself and Sam early on.
However, while Lucy quickly realizes that she should not have wished to jump ahead in time, the novel does not allow her to return until she has fully internalized that her error was more than simply entering a phase of life for which she was unprepared; rather, it was ignoring what is in front of her in favor of fantasies about what could be. This is something Lucy continues to do after she wakes up as a 42-year-old—the only difference being that she is now longing for the past rather than the future. To return to her original timeline, Lucy must recognize that all stages of life have their struggles and that what matters is one’s ability to see what is good. It is therefore not until Lucy begins to immerse herself in and enjoy the moment—e.g., making peace with the fact that she cannot join a spur-of-the-moment trip to Mykonos and then throwing herself into Felix’s birthday party—that her character arc is complete.
The Consequences of Wishes
While The Good Part celebrates living in the moment, it distinguishes this from mere impulsivity. Indeed, the novel’s basic premise underscores the dangers of spur-of-the-moment decisions, as Lucy’s wish to skip ahead in time has a variety of unforeseen negative consequences.
The most dramatic of these is the loss of Lucy’s best friend, Zoya, who dies somewhere between Lucy’s early thirties and early forties. When Lucy learns this, the weight of the revelation hits hard, and Lucy spends the next several days in bed, unable to cope with the magnitude of what has happened. The cause of Zoya’s death—a brain aneurysm—underscores that events often unfold quickly and in ways no one can predict. Nevertheless, it is also the case that, as a 26-year-old, Lucy simply didn’t consider the possibility of losing a friend when she made her wish.
It is also significant that Lucy and Zoya had just fought when she left her twenties timeline. Thus, fighting with Zoya becomes Lucy’s last memory of her friend when she wakes up at 42: “Zoya [is] really […] dead, I will never see her again. I won’t get to say goodbye. I won’t get to say, ‘I’m sorry’” (130). Besides compounding Lucy’s grief and guilt, the argument underscores that the novel is not merely about the consequences of magical wishes, or even obviously life-altering ones. Rather, it highlights the cascading effects of seemingly inconsequential choices, like fighting with a friend or (as Lucy does shortly after waking up to her new reality) splurging on an expensive wardrobe. Lucy’s impulsive purchase of the purple power suit seems like harmless wish fulfillment given that she has money to spare in her bank account, yet it emerges that Future Lucy had set aside some of that money to buy speakers for her husband’s studio. Though the consequences are less catastrophic in this case, Lucy has once again prioritized her own desires in the moment over consideration of their possible impact on others.
This, then, is ultimately the novel’s message—not that it is bad to wish for things, but that it is bad to act on impulse without reflecting on how one’s actions may affect others. This dovetails with the novel’s celebration of friends and family, but it is not restricted to it. As Lucy’s father points out while gardening, it is always important to “tend” to those around one, whoever they may be.
The Value of Family and Friendships
Lucy’s relationships before and after the time jump prove to be her most valuable source of support and encouragement amid the various challenges she encounters. However, Lucy does not initially appreciate how significant these relationships are, so learning to value them is an important part of her character arc.
That Lucy initially takes her loved ones for granted is evident in her wish to skip to the “good part” of her life. Twenty-six-year-old Lucy has several meaningful relationships: close friendships with Zoya, Faye, and Roisin, who provide support and encouragement. For example, the friends gather to celebrate Lucy’s first day in her new job, and although Lucy feels as though her friends have all surpassed her on their career paths and success, she still feels their unconditional love and support. Nevertheless, Lucy implicitly dismisses these friendships as unimportant when she wishes to jump ahead to a time in her life when she is married. When Lucy gets her wish, however, Zoya’s death and the support Faye and Roisin offer amid her mourning underscore the value of friendship. Moreover, her friends help her navigate marriage and motherhood: After Lucy spends a particularly hard day trying to parent Amy and Felix on her own, Faye asks, “Lucy, your child is ill, Sam is away, these are the days you just need to survive […] You’re sure you don’t want me to come over? I could bring you some lavender tea” (196). Even though Faye has her child and wife to take care of, she is willing to come over at the drop of a hat to help Lucy when she is struggling.
Though Lucy is an adult in both the novel’s timelines, her parents too prove vital to her happiness and success. On her way to her first day with her new job as a junior TV researcher, Lucy checks in with her parents, who encourage her to relax and enjoy the experience: “Just remember to have fun. You’re only young once” (15). Lucy knows she can call her parents at any time for support, and this does not change after the jump. When Lucy’s mother finds out about the “memory loss,” she immediately says, “We’ll have to cancel our trip. We’ll have to stay and help” (163). No matter where she is in her timeline, Lucy can count on the support of her parents, which she finds invaluable.
Ironically, it is the very relationships Lucy wished for that she initially finds hardest to appreciate; as Lucy is single in her twenties, she is unused to both the give-and-take required in a long-term relationship and the selflessness required in parenting. Nevertheless, Sam, Felix, and Amy quickly become the center of her new world. With Sam, she finds that the richness of shared history and the growth that they have experienced together create meaning far beyond what she could have anticipated when she was younger. Her children too prove vital to her well-being: The game that she plays with Felix and Amy becomes the inspiration for The House is Going to Get You, the TV show she and her team later successfully pitch to save their jobs. However, Lucy must also learn to put her children’s needs first, as when she throws Felix a birthday party rather than going on vacation with Roisin. Doing so proves less of a sacrifice than she initially believes it will be; Lucy takes genuine pleasure in Felix’s happiness, underscoring that supportive relationships are mutually beneficial, enabling both participants to grow and change.
Unlock all 52 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 9,100+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Sophie Cousens
