47 pages • 1 hour read
Chelsea G. SummersA Certain Hunger
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary: “Jolly Time”
Dorothy found the men in Boston to be slackers: She didn’t have to do much research because they barely tried to hide their bad behavior. She also slept with Boston women.
In April 1988, Dorothy’s mother called and asked her to come home with her siblings. Dorothy had investigated her father and knew about his various infidelities. She describes her parents’ relationship as codependent, unhealthy, and horrible.
Dorothy sent her father’s past mistress a note written in her mother’s handwriting, scaring her off. Her father has a new mistress, but Dorothy doesn’t bother contacting her.
Dorothy’s mother developed stage four lung cancer. As her health deteriorated, animals ate her garden. Dorothy’s siblings moved home to help, but Dorothy only returned once her mother was in hospice. She found the cancer undignified. Her mother died at 52. She told Dorothy she was never her favorite, and Dorothy felt the same about her mother.
In prison, Dorothy recalls her mother showing her makeup, describing it as a woman’s armor. She told Dorothy to be excellent at whatever she does.
