49 pages • 1 hour read
Gareth BrownThe Book of Doors
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A 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
The Ethical Use of Power
As artifacts of great power are at the center of The Book of Doors, ethics and morality surrounding this power are natural questions that come up for the characters throughout the narrative. When Cassie first discovers the Book of Doors, she doesn’t yet realize that other books of power exist in the world. However, even this singular object raises numerous ethical issues. A small, less dire example of this happens when Cassie and Drummond dine at a cafe and then leave without paying; Drummond is distraught at their inadvertent theft, yet Cassie laughs it off. With the Book of Doors, it would be very simple to never have to pay for anything again. Izzy, taking a pragmatic approach, also voices her concerns regarding the potential to use the Book of Doors in unscrupulous ways:
‘Imagine a sicko who can get in and out of any woman’s bedroom,’ Izzy said. ‘Anywhere in the world. […] You could go to another country and commit crimes and come back here and nobody would know who you were. Even if people thought it was you, you would have the perfect alibi of being in another country.’ (32).
She goes on to say that such a person could break into a bank safe or a jewelry shop from anywhere, claiming that “[n]othing would be safe” (32). Cassie is resistant to these valid fears, not wanting to confront these ethical questions herself. Her refusal to acknowledge the dangers of the book’s power and exercise caution results in her being attacked by Barbary, who then uses it to send her into the past. This plot point represents the consequences of her immaturity; she learns from this experience and reenters the present-day narrative with a new perspective on the magical books and the importance of their powers.
As their adventure accelerates and the protagonists understand more of the world they’ve been thrust into, they see other examples of people using the books for good and ill. For example, Izzy experiences first-hand the devastating potential of the Book of Pain. Hugo Barbary uses it to torture her until pain is the only thing she knows. Drummond observes that the book was always Barbary’s favorite, as for an unethical man like Hugo Barbary, the Book of Pain is a natural tool to express his innermost nature. However, another book hunter later explains that the Book of Pain can be used to remove pain as well as inflict it; the Bookseller uses this aspect of it on Barbary to disarm him and ultimately heal him, showing the potential to use the book for both good and evil. The Woman makes a similar consideration regarding the Book of Joy: “But she wasn’t sure she would have had much use for joy. Unless the book could have been used to remove joy as much as to give it. That might have been interesting” (97). Although this isn’t explored in the novel, given the dual nature of the Book of Pain, it seems likely that the Book of Joy could have been used this way as well. In each instance, these books contain within them power to help and to hinder, to harm and to heal. The application of such power is left to the conscious choices of the individual.
The Pursuit of Knowledge
Amidst the battles for power, several characters live their lives in pursuit of intellectual enlightenment or life experience. Perhaps the clearest example of this is in Drummond’s ancestor, Edmund Fox, who establishes the Fox Library. Initially, his goal in life is to “escape what he saw as a tedious existence. He had started his adult life with the idea of becoming an explorer” (107-08). As his pursuits move to the excavation and preservation of the magical books, he and his colleagues are driven by their desire to understand and guard their power. Thus, the Fox Library is founded as an organization devoted to these ideals.
The wanderlust shared by Cassie and her grandfather can also be interpreted as a hunger for knowledge of the world, of human nature, and of oneself. When Cassie learns of the power she holds within the Book of Doors, her immediate reaction is to use it to travel to far-off places she’s never seen, experiencing a broadening of her cultural horizons with every jaunt. Later, she confesses to Izzy that her need to experience the world in this way stems from her grandfather’s unfulfilled need: “Her grandfather never got to travel. His life had been work and bills and responsibilities and raising Cassie, and she was sure it was always something that he had planned to do in that middle-distance place called ‘someday’, but ‘someday’ had never come for him” (76). This illustrates their shared need for limitless potential, but it also implies a sense of guilt that Cassie is struggling to cope with and potentially escape. Like Edmund Fox, both Cassie and her grandfather sought knowledge outside of their limited domestic worlds. When refined by her circumstances, Cassie turns to books to offer this exploration of the world, as each story offers a symbolic doorway into a new location, life, or experience. This deep-seated desire for opportunity is what makes The Book of Doors so alluring to her when she first receives it.
At the end of the novel, once their enemies have been vanquished, the central characters come together in the newly freed Fox Library—a place in which the pursuit of knowledge is held sacred. This contrasts the pursuit of power, an ambition held by the antagonists. Power and knowledge are presented as opposing goals that can be attained through the same means, the books in this case, and the protagonists seek to preserve the latter. They agree to reinstate the library’s original purpose as a collective, bringing this theme to the forefront as the heroes move into the next chapter of their story.
Choice and Responsibility in Times of Struggle
Throughout the novel, several characters struggle with the responsibility they have to the greater good and the choices they make in pursuit of it or in spite of it. One clear example of this is in the protagonist’s journey from self-serving to a more responsible, altruistic perspective. When she first encounters the Book of Doors, she uses it to go on adventures and see new places. While this approach isn’t malicious or problematic, it is inherently selfish, as she uses the book’s magic to serve her own needs. Later, after she’s faced unfathomable loss and learned the truth behind the magical books, Cassie vows to stop the Woman from abusing them. In doing so, she shifts her mindset from one of self-service to one of embracing personal responsibility toward others.
The male characters also struggle with this inner conflict of personal responsibility, particularly Drummond and Azaki. Azaki acknowledges that he’s not someone characterized by any sense of courage or heroism; for him, the ability to choose often means choosing to survive by avoiding conflict. Drummond, likewise, spends a large portion of his life on the run from forces bigger and more powerful than himself. In each of these instances, choices of self-preservation are being made. Both characters later undergo an internal shift in which they join the fight against an oppressive enemy. They feel enabled to do this because of their newfound relationships with the protagonists. Having the courage to make the right choices is thus presented as being enabled by the emotional support and encouragement of others.
Mr. Webber is one character who embodies a positive attitude toward responsibility and the power of one’s choices. When Cassie first confronts him in the past, he’s understandably cautious; however, his immediate instinct is to try to help despite his misgivings. Later, he welcomes Cassie into his home because protecting a vulnerable young woman is the right thing to do. He’s ultimately rewarded for his compassion with a close friendship and companionship through the last years of his life, much like Drummond and Azaki are rewarded for theirs by becoming part of a new found family. Unlike Barbary and the Woman, who respond to the struggles of their past by inflicting harm on others, the protagonists use their hardships to learn, grow, and empathize with others. The novel shows that although taking responsibility for the choices one makes can be challenging, it will create a better future.
