A Character I’d Defend My Life With
Spoilers for Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth Below
CW: homophobia, some sexual content
Lucy Nolan is the protagonist of Sunburn. The book is about rural Ireland in the 1990’s. She has been developing feelings for Susannah O’Shea, a girl in her friend group.
Many people disliked the book because of her.
The reason why most people dislike Lucy is because she treated Susannah wrong. Several times, Lucy would hide their relationship when Susannah wants to come out to people. Now, Susannah doesn’t have a lot to lose; her mother’s absent and her father isn’t around anymore. So her mother wouldn’t care if Susannah came out.
But, Lucy on the other hand came from a religious family. It makes sense that she wants to hide the relationship. Lucy does have her wrongs, and I’m not saying she was 100% innocent. She was wrong for making Susannah feel abandoned at times. Lucy has a childhood best friend, Martin, who’s had a crush on her. Everybody wants Lucy and Martin to end up together. Some time in the book, Lucy went out with Martin to the Deb’s (sort of a school dance for the people graduating) instead of having Susannah as her date.
It wasn’t fair to Susannah, and she had the right to be upset; the girl you love suddenly goes out with another guy. It makes sense to be mad. Lucy had her reasons, though.
1. Her mother caught Susannah and Lucy in a sexual state (Susannah and Lucy had frequent intercourse) and couldn’t see Lucy the same after that.
2. Lucy’s mother literally stopped making food for Lucy and avoided her.
3. Lucy went out with Martin so her mother would get the impression that she is straight. Her mother is well acquainted with Martin and his family.
4. Her mother dislikes Susannah’s family because they weren’t exactly religious and their family was distant (though, idk why that’s any of her business.)
In short words, her mother was homophobic. The people in her town were homophobic. Her friends would call her the d slur and would gossip.
Lucy has wronged Susannah, though. After graduating, she moved away with Martin and they stopped talking for years. Yes, Lucy was extremely wrong for that. Did she have a reason? Yes. Did she feel like she’d have no choice? Yes. Did she feel bad for Martin because he already broke up with someone just because he still had feelings for her? Yes. Lucy was in a toxic environment and it shaped her.
Lucy is relatable in a way; almost like me (except…I won’t wrong a girl that bad.) She can’t come out to people, she’s terribly in love with a girl, and she doesn’t know what she wants in the future.
During the period Lucy and Susannah were separated, Martin wanted to marry her. Lucy was extremely unsure. She got new friends in the city, told them about Susannah, and eventually she began to write and send letters to her. Despite all that, she still loved Susannah.
Martin goes back to their hometown for a reunion. During his stay, he found out that Susannah and Lucy were having intercourse (Susannah came out to someone in her friend group before she moved away, and the friend made up that rumour, which turned out to be true.)
He found more evidence of their affair when he found the letters Lucy had received from Susannah in a drawer. The second to last chapter ends with him understanding Lucy, and letting her go.
The book ends with her returning to her hometown to come out to her parents & to give Susannah one last letter, declaring her love and if Susannah wants to reject her she should say it now. She leaves the letter on Susannah’s doorstep; Susannah opens the door and says Lucy’s name. The ending for this book is perfect, in my opinion. It’s an open ending and it suits the character well; Lucy Nolan is flawed. It makes sense.
In conclusion, I love Lucy Nolan because she lied but had a reason to. She was young, flawed, and didn’t choose to be the way she was. The end of the story could imply her redemption.
