Good Omens: Sunday Summary & Analysis

Newt wakes on Sunday morning to the sound of the paperboy dropping three stacks of Sunday papers on the steps. He lets Anathema sleep—she needs her rest now that there are no more prophecies to attend to. The phone rings, and Newt declines a telemarketer’s offer of double-glazing. He refuses to wake Anathema up to ask her and thinks that something awful should happen to telemarketers. Then, he starts preparing breakfast and makes do with instant black coffee.

Newt looks at the leather-bound block on the table: he can only make out a few letters of the title, and he can’t quite remember how he and Anathema got it. He remembers a man in sunglasses and grubby boys—and somehow, the Wasabi now runs quietly, gives its warnings in haikus, and gets 250 miles to the gallon. Newt stares into space until he hears a knock at the door. A small man smiles at him and says he has a package for Newt and Mrs. Pulsifer. Newt tells him that there’s no Mrs. Pulsifer, but the man says that the letter is quite specific. Finally, the man offers Newt a business card: it reads that he’s Giles Baddicombe of the firm Robey, Robey, Redfearn and Bychance.

Mr. Baddicombe lets himself in and puts the box on the table. He tells Newt that everyone at the firm is very interested, and says that someone wanted Newt to have the box. Mr. Baddicombe explains that the firm has had it for about 300 years. The struggling clerk who accepted the box long ago found a letter addressed to him. It included information about the next 10 years that would make him successful, provided he could make sure the box would stay safe for 300 years and then be delivered. Mr. Baddicombe says that two people have opened it: the first had a heart attack, and the second threatened to fire anyone who opened it.

Newt suggests that Mr. Baddicombe opens the box, eyeing a saucepan. He edges behind a door and hears Mr. Baddicombe open a wax seal. Then, Mr. Baddicombe races back to his car and down the lane. Newt takes the pot off his head and reads the letters: each promises to reveal an inappropriate sexual encounter if the reader doesn’t put the box back. Under the letters is a manuscript. Anathema appears in the doorway and pulls out Further Nife and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Concerning the Worlde that Is to Com: Ye Saga Continuef! She prepares to open it, but Newt puts a hand on hers and asks if she wants to be a descendent for the rest of her life.

It’s about 11:30, and St. James’s park is quiet. The only people in the park are a tall man feeding the ducks, two members of a guerilla organization, and Crowley and Aziraphale. Crowley and Aziraphale discuss that things have gone back to the way they were: Crowley found a Bentley parked in front of his flat, and Aziraphale’s bookshop isn’t burnt (though it currently stocks only children’s books). Fortunately, the books are all mint first editions. Neither of their people have been in contact, and Crowley suggests that they’re getting ready for the “big one.” As he sees it, the actual big one will be Heaven and Hell against humanity, not Heaven against Hell. Adam may have changed everything, decided to stay human, and gotten rid of his power. Aziraphale hopes so.

Crowley says that they can never know for sure. He asks why there’s Heaven and Hell in the first place, and he notes that anyone who can build a universe in six days isn’t going to let little things get by unless it’s planned. Aziraphale tells Crowley to be sensible, but Crowley insists that looking at things sensibly yields funny results—for instance, why make people curious and put a metaphorical neon sign on forbidden fruit? Maybe it’s all part of a big, ineffable plan, and it’s just a test to see if things work right. It might be a game of Solitaire rather than chess; maybe they’re not supposed to understand. Crowley can’t come up with why, and the tall figure by the pond—Death—says that it’s just ineffable.

Shadwell has followed the same Sunday routine for the last decade: he reads books in the WA’s library and eats liver prepared by Madame Tracy. But tonight, he accepted Madame Tracy’s invitation to eat in her flat, remembering an odd dream from last night—in it, he said that witch-finding is fun, but that he had to take turns and let the witches find him for once. Having eaten ate his liver, Shadwell now sits in an armchair, sipping a glass of stout. Madame Tracy puts down her tea and says that it would be nice to move out to the countryside. Shadwell agrees, and Madame Tracy asks if he’s comfortable. Surprisingly, Shadwell is. Madame Tracy giggles and asks where she could find someone to settle down with. Shadwell asks Madame Tracy how many men she’s slept with, and then he agrees to retire with her.

Late Sunday afternoon, Warlock is in an airplane high over England. It’s been a strange couple of days: his father was called to the Middle East, where a guy showed them around ruins and asked Warlock if he’d like to do anything. He’d looked upset when Warlock said he wanted to leave. Far below, Greasy Johnson is flipping through a photography magazine. He pauses on a spread about American football catching on in Europe (when the magazine was printed, the spread was about photography in desert conditions). This will change his life.

Adam sits in the garden and scratches at the dirt. Last night, Mr. Young found Adam fast asleep—but at breakfast, Mr. Young made it clear that he’s not convinced Adam was in his room all night. Nobody is sure what happened last night, but Mr. Young is certain Adam is guilty of something. Adam looks up when Pepper, Wensleydale, and Brian call his name. There’s a circus over in Norton, and they want to watch it set up. Adam daydreams about being asked to perform with the circus, but he shakes his head. His parents won’t let him out.

Pepper uneasily asks what happened last night. Adam says it doesn’t matter—he just tried to help, and now people are treating him like he killed someone. His parents won’t let him out for years. Wensleydale asks if they might let him out tomorrow, and Adam says that they’ll have forgotten everything by then. He tells his friends to go on to the circus without him.

Adam thinks of all the things that are waiting on the other side of the hedge. In a stern voice, he tells Dog to stay away from the hedge—if Dog went through it, Adam would have to disobey his parents and follow. Suddenly, there’s a hole in the hedge—it’s always been there. Dog races through it, and Adam shouts at him as he follows. Somehow, Adam knows that something, perhaps summer, is coming to an end. He needs to make the most of it. He stops in the middle of a field and looks at the smoke coming from Jasmine Cottage. Adam can hear more than most people and he hears a laugh—and for an instant, he sees Agnes Nutter in the smoke. She winks at him.

Adam runs on and catches up with Dog. He looks up at the old apple tree above and climbs it quickly, pocketing as many apples as he can. A voice threatens to tell Mr. Young, so Adam and Dog run away. Adam knows he’ll be in trouble now, but not until evening. Adam doesn’t understand why people get so bent out of shape about others eating their fruit—but life wouldn’t be nearly as much fun if people didn’t get upset. In Adam’s opinion, apples are always worth the trouble. The future, according to the narrator, is a boy, his dog, and his friends walking toward Tadfield forever.