The End of Everything (novel)

The End of Everything

Company type	Novel
Industry	Literature
Founded	July 7, 2011 (2011-07-07)
Founder	Megan Abbott
Products	Novel

The End of Everything is a 2011 novel penned by American writer Megan Abbott. The story centers on thirteen-year-old Lizzie Hood following the supposed abduction of her closest friend, Evie Verver. As Lizzie grows increasingly involved with Evie's family, particularly her father, Mr. Verver, she strives to uncover the truth behind Evie's disappearance. Marking Abbott's initial work beyond the period noir genre, the book has been likened to Lolita and the Oakland County Child Killer case.

Released by Reagan Arthur on July 7, 2011, the novel garnered acclaim for its intricate depiction of female characters and the nuanced dynamics between teenagers and adults. It was recognized among the top books of 2011 by both The Boston Globe and Washington Examiner and was shortlisted for the 2012 Anthony Award for Best Mystery. According to Publishers Weekly, it represents Abbott's breakthrough novel.

Plot

Thirteen-year-olds Lizzie Hood and Evie Verver are close friends and neighbors. Lizzie is captivated by Evie's family life: her withdrawn mother, glamorous sister Dusty, and especially her father Mr. Verver, whose attention she deeply desires. Following Evie's disappearance after school, Lizzie undergoes questioning but initially recalls little. Gradually, she remembers that Evie showed her cigarette butts found in their backyard and mentioned being watched by a man at night. Lizzie informs Mr. Verver about the cigarettes but withholds details about the man; she also recalls spotting a maroon Buick Skylark owned by their neighbor Mr. Shaw on the day Evie vanished.

Lizzie reflects on an incident from their childhood when she nearly drowned in a lake alongside Evie before Mr. Verver rescued her. Although police investigate Mr. Shaw's residence with no findings, Lizzie doubts her recollections while Dusty insists the car was present. When rumors circulate that Evie may have drowned herself, Lizzie uncovers cigarettes hidden behind Mr. Shaw's office and finds a photograph of herself and Evie concealed in his milk chute—a spot where she later hides it again and guides Mr. Verver to discover it.

As Lizzie spends more evenings talking with Mr. Verver, she learns that police have found a body unrelated to Evie’s and grows increasingly anxious about her friend's fate. She attempts to break into Mr. Shaw's house but is caught by his son Pete, who reveals he sent money to his father at a motel. Lizzie protects Pete’s secret and tells Mr. Verver that Evie contacted her from that motel. Authorities learn that Mr. Shaw stayed there under an alias accompanied by a girl he claimed was his daughter but has since left. Pete confesses that his mother warned Mr. Shaw after discovering Pete’s involvement.

Following another night spent with Mr. Verver, Dusty confronts Lizzie with the assertion that Evie knew about Mr. Shaw watching her and wanted him to take her away. That same night, Evie returns home; Dusty refuses communication with her while Lizzie remains close, seeking clarity. Soon after, Mr. Shaw commits suicide in the Ververs’ backyard—a discovery made by both Evie and Lizzie shortly thereafter. Evie reveals she asked Mr. Shaw to take her away and was aware he had been watching her; he professed love for her since rescuing her from the lake during childhood, and she consented to a sexual relationship based on that history.

Dr. Aiken, Lizzie’s mother’s boyfriend, notices scratches on Dusty following Evie's disappearance; Dusty attributes them to field hockey. When confronted, Dusty admits witnessing Mr. Shaw in their backyard and having an argument with Evie over his attention on the day she disappeared—Dusty called Evie disgusting for desiring it; Evie retorted by criticizing Dusty’s relationship with their father. Mr. Shaw intervened at that moment, leading to Evie leaving with him. Both sisters conceal full details to shield their father’s reputation. Ultimately, Lizzie learns from her mother that it was in fact Mr. Shaw—not Mr. Verver—who saved her from drowning as a child, and that he believed he had similarly rescued Evie as well.

Background and publication

The End of Everything represents Megan Abbott's initial novel attempt, begun in 1994 while she was in graduate school. Its inspiration stemmed from a PBS documentary about a young girl involved with an older man, as well as the novel Lolita. Encountering difficulties with the storyline, Abbott set the project aside for ten years, during which she published four noir fiction novels. After releasing Bury Me Deep in 2009, she revisited this manuscript, reimagining it with a modern-day setting and focusing on a teenage main character.

The story unfolds in a Midwestern suburb during the 1980s, drawing from Abbott’s own upbringing in Grosse Pointe, Michigan—the same locale featured in Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides. The Ververs family is inspired by Abbott’s childhood friend’s family, once idealized until tragedy intervened. Mr. Verver’s character is modeled after a friend’s father, while Lizzie resembles a darker fairy tale version of Nancy Drew. Abbott has acknowledged the influence of the Oakland County Child Killer case near Detroit on the novel’s ominous atmosphere. Additionally, she credits Dusty Springfield’s "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and the television series Twin Peaks as creative sources.

Released on July 7, 2011, by Reagan Arthur (which later became part of Little, Brown) in the United States and on August 5, 2011, by Picador in the United Kingdom, the audiobook edition was narrated by Emily Bauer and produced by Blackstone Audio. Recognized by Time and Entertainment Weekly as one of the standout novels of 2011, this book marked Abbott's emergence into mainstream literary recognition. In that year, Time included her among '23 Writers We Adore,' alongside notable authors Salman Rushdie and Jonathan Franzen.

Themes

Central to the novel are themes surrounding adolescence and the loss of innocence. Abbott chose to make Lizzie thirteen years old to mirror her own age when she first experienced feelings of desire and unease around other girls. She described this period as "that noisy hinge between childhood and adolescent tumult," where ordinary moments seem to signify "the end of everything." The narrative portrays the adult world through a filtered lens; Lizzie and Evie are inquisitive yet unaware of the potential repercussions. Lizzie wrestles with navigating the boundary between childhood and adulthood.

The Boston Globe commended the novel for overturning the conventional portrayal of adolescent girls solely as victims, instead emphasizing intricate relationships between young girls and older men. The End of Everything delves into power imbalances and adult discomfort as daughters mature—paralleling Abbott’s earlier work Queenpin, which explored a father’s uneasy reaction to his daughter's emerging sexuality. Addressing accusations of pseudo-incestuous themes within her writing, Abbott compared the romantic relationship depicted in this novel to that in Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 film Shadow of a Doubt. Lizzie’s infatuation with Mr. Verver is depicted as "completely appropriate and utterly romantic," reflecting a common experience among women. Despite some readers’ critiques, Abbott interprets Mr. Verver not as intentionally harmful but rather negligent and oblivious to how he affects the girls around him.

Reception

The End of Everything was met with largely favorable critiques, including a starred commendation from Publishers Weekly. It was recognized as one of the top books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly, The Boston Globe, and the Washington Examiner. Additionally, the novel was shortlisted for the 2012 Anthony Award in the Best Mystery category. Reviewers observed parallels to Abbott's previous publications, labeling it as "pre-noir" and exemplary noir, while drawing comparisons to works by Tana French, Kate Atkinson, Judy Blume, and Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. Nevertheless, it garnered acclaim from the Los Angeles Times and Library Journal for its innovative take on the coming-of-age narrative.

The Huffington Post emphasized Abbott's nuanced and restrained depiction of sexuality alongside the menacing figure of Mr. Verver, describing her as "a scalpel to the origins of incest." Critics pointed out the "almost eerie" dynamic between Dusty and Mr. Verver, with both The New York Times and Nick Hornby in The Believer lauding Abbott’s exploration of intricate themes concerning young women and older men. Hornby admired her nuanced portrayal of female characters oscillating between victimhood and agency, characterizing the novel as embodying "transgressive and occasionally sinister sexual chaos." The story’s ambiguous conclusion provokes contemplation on motives, sexuality, and the dependability of narration.

Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly assigned a B− grade, criticizing the prose as overly elaborate despite an engaging plot. Booklist commended the "ethereal, first-person voice" and Lizzie’s multifaceted portrayal but found the conclusion excessively explanatory. A reviewer at Elle expressed dissatisfaction with the plot twist, suggesting it might leave some readers feeling shortchanged by an author hesitant to fully disclose the truth.

A critique in The Times praised scenes illustrating Lizzie’s fixation on the Verver family but remarked on occasional heavy-handedness in sustaining an erotically charged mood. The book was described as an "accomplished psychological thriller," with a familiar framework cleverly undermined by unexpected twists. Cullen Gallagher of the Los Angeles Review of Books labeled it "disturbingly, even brutally honest," underscoring Lizzie’s internal conflict between fear and desire, especially in a moment that evokes sympathy for Evie’s abductor. Abbott has noted that this novel attracts her most intense critical responses from readers.