Everything ends, the good and the bad

Abstract

This thesis is an excerpt of a literary fiction novel with the title ‘Everything Ends, the Good and the Bad’ and contains the first nine chapters of the story. The plot follows June (32), Margaret (69), and Claire (24) on a road trip they take through Scotland in Margaret’s Ford Fiesta named Dolly in the summer of 2022. They do not know each other very well, and they are all currently going through major changes in their lives and relationships. Margaret’s cousin’s ex-husband Douglas has scammed her out of a substantial amount of money, and the main objective of the trip is to travel to his house in Inverness to confront him and acquire the money back. During the trip, the women gradually reveal what they are dealing with in their lives. Their conversations and interior thoughts explore themes such as motherhood as well as deciding against it, dealing with dementia in the family, the influence of disordered eating behaviours on relationships, living in a country you did not grow up in, getting over breakups, romantic versus platonic love, and female friendship. Structurally, the narrative switches between objective third-person perspective when the women are in the car, and limited third-person narration when they are not in or around Dolly.

The research conducted for this piece has consisted mainly of intense character study, as well as visiting the locations featured in the story in order to develop a clear idea of the setting in which it takes place. The purpose of this novel is to capture a moment in time when life is uncertain, things change, chapters close and everything familiar ends. It investigates the human response to it, and the journey to find beauty and comfort and friendship in those exact moments.