Summary of Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus was published in October 2026. Peck & Peck is Garmus’s sophomore novel. It follows Batter Gray on his journey to become a poet. I wrote a summary of Peck & Peck to remind you of the plot, characters, and important moments in the book.

The Peck & Peck summary is detailed and will contain spoilers. If you are looking to read Peck & Peck for your book club, I also have a list of Peck & Peck book club questions for you. These are thoughtful questions that discuss the characters, important plot points, literary devices, and themes.

Before you read the summary, please be aware that in addition to spoilers, there may be some content that is triggering. These include, but are not limited to: death of a child, death of an animal (off page)

Quick Summary of Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Batter Gray has always known that he wanted to be a poet. He is a twinless twin and a bit of a quirky, wandering soul, and he has always dreamt of being a poet. He meanders his way through college and moves to New York City, where he has numerous jobs before he lands a job at Peck & Peck, a poetry magazine.

Batter sees himself as an editor, but finds himself working in the copy room with a cast of crazy characters and crazy rules for how things are done. He also find strange office politics combined with dysfunctional family drama.

Peck & Peck has always been run by a set of Peck twins. Now, the company, which temporarily shut down for two years, is back up and running with only one Peck twin at the helm. This Peck brother is different from his predecessor, who is not allowed in the building. Batter comes to understand himself, his friends, and his family in this character driven sophmore novel.

Peck & Peck Summary

Batter has always known that he is an identical twin whose brother was stillborn and that he was named after the family dog. He has been arrested for something, but we will not find out what it is for a while….

In 1967, Batter lives with his parents in Yuba City, California. He is 10 when he finds out that his mother takes pills to help with her “nerves”. Rainey Gray, a typeface designer, explains that she takes the medication because, when she does, Batter’s father, a historian named Jon, feels better.

Batter the dog took his role as hero very seriously. Throughout the story, we hear numerous stories about Batter’s heroic deeds.

When Batter’s fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Barksdale, asks Batter what he is going to be when he grows up, he announces that he is going to be a poet. Mrs. Barksdale explains that even Walt Whitman worked as a clerk, so while he can write on the side, he will need to find another job to support himself.

As Batter gets older, he maintains his love of poetry, despite his parents’ objections.

Fast-forward to 1975, when Batter becomes the salutatorian for his high school when the entire Honor Society contracted giardia on a school trip. After being rejected from most schools he applied to, Batter gets into a New England university.

Batter’s freshman roommate is a half-Asian, half-Black man named Paul who wants to be a politician. Batter tries to explain to Paul that he wants to be a poet because he has an ear. Paul explains that he will never get any girls that way.

Batter meets with his appointed faculty advisor, Dr. Doug Payne. After Batter explains that he wants to be a poetry major, Dr. Payne puts him in math.

Mrs. Martin, Batter’s elementary school librarian, first introduced him to Peck & Peck, a poetry journal. The outside cover, the same on every issue, is our drawing of a quail egg. Just above the egg was the publication name set in 32-point serif type called Bembo. And just beneath the name of the imprint was the issue number- 274. The quarterly has two words written on the first page. Come Home.

Sophomore year of school, Batter gets the reputation of being great at helping with essays, but cannot find a major he likes. By mid-junior year, his advisor points out that Batter has tried math, ancient and contemporary literature, physics, sociobiology, Spanish, archaeology, and ceramics. Dr. Payne casually mentions that he used to know Batter’s father.

Batter attends a poetry workshop where he realizes that he is actually not good at writing poetry. He goes to the registrar and declares that he is pre-law. When he goes to the school library, he finds out that Issue 313 of Peck & Peck is the last one. It went bankrupt.

Batter graduates and moves to NYC under the guise that he is going to work while studying for the LSAT.

Batter (Dog) Story

Batter found a wallet with $300 and three pictures of children. He went to the nearest elementary school, found the kids who matched the pictures, and gave them each one of the $100 bills.

Peck & Peck Summary Continued

Batter moved to the city and got a job at the Gap and Copy-a-Go-Go. He got a third job at the Just Okay restaurant. He worked 60 hours a week, had no time for poetry, and finally got a girlfriend named June. They were together for a year before she decided to leave NYC with plans to become an underwriter.

In 1981, Batter is still working his three jobs. Paul calls him. He listens to his voice on the phone, but does not pick up. Paul says he is coming to the city and wants to see Batter. Batter realizes it’s actually 1982. He does not call Paul back.

Batter starts to attend poetry readings. He finds a thin, five-story building on a triangular lot. In front of the building are boxwood topiaries. He figures out a little later that these topiaries are in the shape of letters, and they spell something. It has tall French doors and two glass domes. As he approaches the building, he sees a carved egg-like shape above the door and the company name: Peck & Peck.

The building is filled with people, and he sees a man and a woman walk out the door, talking about work. Batter learns that they are hiring!

Mr. Raley, Batter’s boss at the Just Okay, encourages his employees to become something. He also calls everyone Alex, the name of his son. Batter stays up to craft a resume and cover letter to try and get the job.

Batter brings his cover letter and poems to Peck & Peck to drop them off in person. He is stopped at the door by an older man named Andy, who insists there is no job opening. He also suggests that this is no place for a poet and suggests if Batter is going to leave his resumer, he should not include the poems.

Two days later, he gets a phone call that he has an interview at Peck & Peck.

When he arrives, he tells the assistant that he has an interview for the editorial position. The assistant, Dexter, insists that there is no position available, despite the fact that Batter can see his name on the assistant’s list of appointments.

Dexter leads him to Salton Peck’s office, where Peck makes him wait and then yells at him. Peck explains that he received a letter of recommendation for Batter and offers him a job. He explains that he expects long hours and complete loyalty.

Batter quits his three jobs and embellishes his position at Peck & Peck. When he arrives at the building, Andy, the security guard, and Dexter make Batter wait before Dexter takes him on a tour of the building, unlike anything he has ever seen. He goes from floor to floor, seeing where the editors and associate editors have their offices, and he’s excited to find his own.

The fifth floor has Salton Peck’s office, floors 2-4 have editorial offices, and the first floor has the mailroom (run by parolees). The mail is sorted, the junior editors collect it, and then the rejections are burned. Dexter eventually leads Batter to the bomb shelter in the basement that has three photocopy machines. This is his office.

Batter is confused because this is not what he was expecting. Salton has mentioned receiving a recommendation, and knowing that Batter was “just right. However, Mr. Raley said he never received a call. On autopilot, Batter starts cleaning up the copiers and the area, so disappointed that he cries.

After three weeks working in the copy room, Batter feels like quitting. He returns to Mr. Raley and asks for his old job back. Mr. Raley refuses. He tells Batter that until he starts believing in himself, the people at Peck & Peck will walk all over him.

Batter (Dog) Story

Rainy Gray was the vice president of her high school’s honor society. She was supposed to greet the mayor who was coming to the high school, but the president of the honor society, Peter, said that he would do it instead. When Peter got strep throat, Batter ran into the school and locked Peter and a girl named Leslie in a closet so the mayor would not get strep throat. Rainy insists that Batter saved the entire city from a massive strep throat outbreak. And the mayor went on to become the future Vice President of the United States.

Peck & Peck Summary Continued

Batter takes the initiative to send a memo out to all the staff, introducing himself and creating a new copy form that allows the editors to save paper by selecting two-sided copying.

When a senior editor named Louisa, nicknamed Lou, comes to the copy room, Batter is excited that someone has come downstairs to meet him. He quickly realized that she came downstairs to meet with Sam. The copy room was the place of their secret rendezvous.

By 8am the next day, Batter has been summoned to Salton’s office, where he is nearly fired for his memo.

Back in the copy room, Batter finds a man sitting in there wearing a long-sleeved jumpsuit and a baseball cap. The man will not tell him his name, but hands him a poem entitled “Posture”. Batter thinks the poem is very good and is surprised that the poem was rejected. Just before the man runs out of the room, he introduces himself as Declonius Peck.

Declonius Peck was the editor of the magazine from issue 184 through 313. Batter meets Howard in the hall. He is a senior editor who offers to show Batter the aviary on the 5th floor. It is where they hold the editorial meetings. Batter asks Howard about Delclonius’s signature on the magazines. Howard advises him not to discuss that with anyone else in the building. He confides that he was a very good and well-liked man, but the quarterly lost money while he was in charge. He went to prison for five years, and there is a restraining order prohibiting him from entering the building.

They enter the aviary, which has a table with 26 chairs for the senior editors and another 13 chairs behind them for the junior editors. The room is covered in beautifully displayed eggs in shadow boxes. Howard speaks highly of Dexter and how smart he is. He assumes that Dexter and Batter are friends.

Fun fact: The New York Public Library lions are twins.

Batter goes to the Library to find information about Peck & Peck. Patrius and Argentio founded the company in 1900. They hired 39 editors with credentials, making them experts in something. They published 4 times a year with no advertising. The Phone Book Parties started as a way to bring people into the world of poetry. One hundred people would be selected at random from the phone book and invited to a party when the quarterly was published. They received a calligraphy invitation instructing: “Come as you are. Just don’t not come.” This is how they gained new readership.The Librarian informs Batter that not only did she attend one of these parties, but she met her husband there as well.

The next set of Editors were Cusp and Rye Peck, another set of twins, and finally, Declonius and Salton. Salton had instituted a strict way of sorting the poems before finally categorizing them into 5 further categories to determine their worthiness for the quarterly.

Whenever Batter found a poem he loved that was destined for incineration, he made a copy to bring home before it was incinerated. Was this a big deal? Yes, There are signs everywhere prohibiting anything from being taken out of the building.

Batter bumps into Andy in the lobby, who was at Peck & Peck all night. He says
“Rejection makes people do desperate things – you can quote me on that – you can take that to the bank. Literally.” Page 140. When Batter corrects him and asks if he means pressure, Andy agrees. When Andy drops his wallet, pictures fall out. There is a picture with Andy and Cusp Peck, who were best friends. Andy used to babysit for Salton and Declonius.

The editors still in the building cannot believe that with only two days left until publishing, Batter went home! There is a CRISIS meeting in 20 minutes. Batter is expected to be there with copies in hand.

Xing Xing Yao is a 25-year-old movie star. Salton has decided that he is going to put one of her poems in the quarterly. Everyone except Salton agrees that she cannot write. They continue arguing about a poem that Howard has put forward to be in the quarterly. Batter interrupts the meeting to correct Salton, who called a rogue wave a beach poem. Batter explains that rogue waves happen in the middle of the water. He argues with Salton, to everyone’s complete disbelief (including his own), and the poem makes it into the quarterly. This is Howard’s first contribution in 2 years. Howard invites Batter for a drink with some of the other editors.

Over drinks they discussed that the company bylaw states the company has to be run by a Peck- preferable twins. Mira will take over because she is Salton’s daughter.

Howard and Bader leave the bowl bar together, and Howard shares that he has a daughter whom he has not heard from in a long time. They bump into a man who introduces himself as Eduardo Jones. He is a poet who has already received a postcard with a big NO on the front from Peck & Peck. He asks Howard if he can read one of his poems. Howard explains that there are very strict rules at Peck & Peck, so he cannot read a poem that is handed to him. Howard introduces Batter as a copy editor. Eduardo recognizes Batter’s name because he won a Poetry in Buses contest.

Batter feels confident enough to call his mother, who had been leaving messages that he did not return. He exaggerates his successful trajectory at the company.

Mira starts spreading rumors about Batter, saying he is stoned half the time. She begins to sabotage him. Tang tells Batter that he cannot get on Mira’s bad side and that he needs to figure out how to fit in.

Batter goes back to the coffee room and decides that he can no longer throw out and burn poems he thinks are good. He photocopies a rejected poem and puts it in his bag to take it home. Just as he is doing it, Declonius appears from the shadows to snatch the poem from his hand.

Batter confronts Declonuis because he is not allowed in the building. Declonius urges Batter to consider his sources for the bad things he has heard because, after all, not everything said about a person is true. Declonius points out that a lot of bad things have been said about Batter- like being stoned- and that is not true. Batter is not sure who to believe.

Declonius explains to Batter that Salton never liked poetry. Salton isn’t curious, and it makes him feel stupid because he can’t understand it. Batter doesn’t need to be a poet to be a great editor, in the same way that a wine taster doesn’t make the wine: “your job is to taste it and tell us if it’s any good – study the tannins, examine the residue, reject the bitter, block the artificial.” pg. 171

Declonius appeals to Batter to help the others remember what Peck & Peck is about and remember the poem on the first page of every quarterly: Come Home

On his way home from work, Batter is mugged by an assailant he cannot see. They steal his bag with all of the poems inside. He finds out later. It was a group of fourth graders.

Batter gets home and feels horrible about everything. There are multiple messages on his answering machine. One is from his mother, wishing him a happy birthday, with a shaky voice. It is clearly a bittersweet day for her. The second is from Paul, who wishes him a happy birthday, but asks for a callback regarding something important. The last is from Declonius Peck, who apologizes for the mugging incident. He set it up because Batter had stolen the poems. He has Batter’s personal items at his house.

Batter enters Peck & Peck with the intention to quit when he is confronted by Andy. Eduardo Jones came to the building to see Batter and ask about his poems. Batter knows that his poems are good enough to make it into the issue and wants to help. Eduardo says he does not have any poems on him to give to Batter, but he invites Batter to a poetry reading later that night.

Peck & Peck Summary: Halfway There!

Batter goes to the poetry reading and is seated at a table with a woman whom Batter cannot look away from. She is exactly his type, and he instantly thinks she is perfect in every way. When she gets up to get her place in line to read, she asks Batter to save her seat. He orders her a white wine for when she is done. Her name is Wren.

Her performance is followed by Dexter, who dedicates the poem to Wren: “My better half. With all my love.”

Batter (Dog) Story

Rainey Gray tells Batter a story about rejection. She notes that while rejection can hurt, it’s not fatal. She is also talking about expectations. In the story, Batter the dog brings Rainey two dozen pink roses to school on Valentine’s Day. The teacher thinks Batter stole the beautifully wrapped flowers from a florist and tells the principal, who then tells the police that Rainey trained her dog to be a thief. When Batter (the child) questions his mother about how a dog got flowers, Rainey tells him that he is missing the point. The point is that the dog was unafraid.

Peck & Peck Summary Continued

Back at the poetry slam, Dexter is reading his poem. It is fantastic, and Batter is devastated. He is determined to find a new job in the wake of Declonius’s betrayal, his hatred of Dexter, and his loss of a relationship with Wren that never even started.

Batter heads over to Declonius’s apartment to retrieve the bag that was stolen by the muggers. Declonius is not there, but his neighbor answers the door to her apartment. After some confusion, she gives him an envelope filled with poetry. When he looks at the poetry, he realizes these are not the photocopies he stole; rather, they are the poems of a kid named Portia Greene.

Interlude

The topiaries outside Peck & Peck were arranged into poems that were changed every three months.

Peck & Peck Summary Continued

Lou tells Any, Sam, and Batter that someone took poetry out of the building and was mugged on the way home. Salton calls a “Fat Ass” Meeting- as in, get your fat ass to the aviary in 5 minutes. Salton demands, “Why does Peck & Peck publish poetry?” “Why is it something no one would ever choose to lay a financial bet on?” and “How do we make Manish money publishing this crap?”

Salton gives everyone raises to celebrate the fact that he made money by putting Xing Xong Yao’s poem in the latest edition. Batter’s raise is higher than everyone else’s.

Batter photocopies a memo for distribution among all the editors that directs people who have complaints about the guy in the copy room to contact Mira or Dexter.

Salton brings Batter to his office and goes off on a tangent about the IBM Selectric I vs. Selectric II typewriter. He insists they are exactly the same. He suggests that he would like to give Batter a promotion to associate editor. He would be above Mira and Dex. But openings do not happen very often, and people are going to be very upset about it. So it is going to take time. Salton wants Batter to keep an eye out for whoever stole the poetry. He thinks the person is female. Salton wants to take Peck & Peck down. He wants to destroy it bit by bit.

Salton reiterates that he requires complete loyalty from Batter. He is going to fire Howard.

Batter finally calls Paul, who sounds terrible. Batter gets on a train to go to Paul. He knows something is wrong.

Paul admits that he is gay.

Batter tells Paul everything about working at Peck & Peck, including stealing the poems. Paul tries to convince Batter to quit.

Batter goes back to Declonius’s loft. Declonius admits that he was the one who wrote the letter of recommendation for Batter. He said terrible things about him in the letter (untrustworthy, liar, homophobic) because he knew that would make Salton want to hire him on the spot. Declonius and Batter met when Batter was working at the Gap and had a discussion about a poem. Declonius knew that Batter would be perfect for the quarterly.

Howard is Dexter’s Godfather.

Andy was best friends with Declonius’s father. He used to be a poet but gave up a long time ago. He’s an ex-cop who has been working at Peck & Peck for twelve years, since he was shot on duty.

Declonius tells his side of the story. He loved Peck & Peck, but he cost of running it became very high. Cusp and Rye Peck had to sell the building after the stock market crash. They have been renting the building ever since. The cost of the rent doubled, and Declonius had to cut salaries instead of shutting down. Then one day, Salton sent police and had Declonius arrested in front of everyone.

While Declonius was in prison, his wife, Billie, died. The Prison was on lockdown, and he was not allowed to attend the funeral. His children never forgave him for going to prison. Billie had to work double shifts after they were financially ruined, contracted a virus, and died.

Batter did get the poems back. Now he does not know who to trust- Salton or Declonius.

Paul hired a private detective to uncover information about Salton. He discovered:

Batter heads to Salton’s office to quit, but when Salton is not there, Batter decides to stay until his promotion- long enough to make Dexter mad, and then quit.

Batter goes into the copy room and finds his mom waiting for him. Batter finally admits that he has been exaggerating his position. Rainey tells him to never apologize for working hard.

Rainey and John have come to New York for a conference. Rainey begins telling another Batter the dog story when Batter the boy cuts her off. He realizes the dog had a tag on his collar that said “Been Batter”. It actually said battered. Batter tells his mother to stop telling him make-believe stories about a dog. Rainey immediately leaves.

Batter realizes he does not know where his parents are staying, but Andy knows the hotel AND where his dad is speaking. Batter immediately heads to the hotel, but his mother is not there. So, he heads to his dad’s conference instead. Wren is at the desk for the conference. She gives him a badge and directs him to his father’s talk. He is shocked by how wonderful his father is.

Peck & Peck Summary: Almost at the End

John was at Dartmouth finishing his Ph.D. He ultimately wanted a tenure-track position there, as did Doug Payne (Batter’s advisor). When Rainey had to quit her job because the twin pregnancy was causing health risks, they fell into debt. The only thing keeping John going was the position he thought he would get. Doug got the position instead.

The day he learned he did not get the job, he accepted an undergraduate’s offer of payment for a grade. Soon, students were coming to his office regularly to pay for their grades, and John found a way to justify it. When Doug found out, they argued about it for hours, until he heard barking at the office door. Batter was there, covered in blood.

Batter (the dog) Story

—— Ending follows below ——

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Review of Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Peck & Peck Summary: Ending

The morning after a fire, there is a crisis meeting. Salton is disturbed that his brother rearranged the topiaries. He is happy to announce that Xing Xing loved working with batter, and the last reason is that he is ready to confront the person who stole the poems.

batter tries to confess, but Salton will not let him. He has photographic evidence of a peck, giving poetry to the Editor-in-Chief of the Eastern Seaboard Poetry Review.

Batter is shocked. He tries to call Xing Xing, but she does not answer. Instead, he gets a message telling him to stop calling and he is an asshole. He cannot figure out what he did.

Batter goes to see Salton and confesses that he considered Declonius a friend. Salton admits that he hired Batter because of the scathing letter of recommendation Declonius wrote.

Salton brings out the ledgers that show how Declonius altered the books and stole money. This is where Batter admits that, as much as he hated accounting, he was really good at it. He cannot believe what he is seeing on the page.

Salton had begged his father and uncle to make him CEO. He was convinced that he could make a profit, but they would not give him a place in the company. Instead, he got his job only after Declonius stole all the money.

Batter was making his way to the Plaza Hotel when he saw a tabloid headline. “Xing Xing Yao Revealed in Diary Tell-All!!!” Batter realized the notebook Xing Xing handed him was not her poetry notebook. It was her diary. Someone stole it in the fire and sold it to the tabloids. There was another picture of Declonius and Wren leaving the police station after Wren posted his bail.

Just then, Batter is served. Xing Xing Yao is suing him for invasion of privacy, slander, libel, trespassing, personal cruelty, fraudulent, intent, and theft, and violation of copyright.

Batter calls his mother to help process what has happened. He is most upset because Declonius really surprised him. When he unpacked the situation with his mother, he could not imagine that Declonius would set fire to the building and sell the diary. He is not surprised that he would cut the topiaries. Rainey helps him really think about the events and what they mean.

Back at the office, Salton hands Batter the upcoming quarterly and sends him to the typesetters with very strict instructions to guard it and get proofs so they can send out issue 324. It will be late, but at least it will be done.

Batter gets a cab and makes him stop at his house before going to the typesetters. When he arrives, he tells the woman at the desk to print it without proofs. She is reticent to do it, but does not want to call Salton to verify with him.

When Batter tells Salton, he is furious. He also left out the fact that he ordered a quadruple run. The editors are arguing and yelling at Salton to fire Batter

Batter then declared that they should have a phone book party. Salton loves the idea and tells everyone to plan it with basically no budget. No other editor will help Batter at all. So, he picks up the phone and calls his coworkers from the Gap, Copy-a-Go-Go, and the Just Okay to get their help.

He is able to negotiate wholesale prices in exchange for putting people on the guest list for the party. Batter makes sure that his mother approves the font for the invitations and the envelopes.

The night of the party, it is clear that despite the fire, the movie, and what Peck & Peck had become, it still had a reputation that meant something. Everyone invited to the party came.

Xing Xing comes to the party. Mr Raley comes to the party and tells Batter how proud he is. The librarian from the New York City Public Library thanks Batter for her invitation- even though he was supposed to invite 100 strangers, and it is clear that he did not.

Wren and Dexter are there. There is an awkward situation in which Dexter is being passive-aggressive toward Batter, and John Grey calls him out. Dexter and Paul meet.

Salton begins to call readers to read their poems, starting with Eduardo Jones. The second reader is Portia Jones. At this point Salton is starting to get really mad. When the third reader is announced, it is Xing Xing. By the time she is done, everyone is going nuts. Batter has clearly made his own issue of the quarterly. He removed Salton’s name as editor and replaced it with Declonius. Clearly, Batter chose his side.

The last poem is an anonymous poem called Posture. It was the first poem Declonius ever had Batter read. It is Dexter’s poem.

Paul had been trying to tell Batter everything he learned from the PI he hired. Just then, the police came to the party and arrested Salton. He screamed the whole way out. Just as he is taken away, Batter is arrested as well.

He is arrested for arson with intent to kill.

Xing Xing tries, unsuccessfully, to get Batter released. Why?

Batter does have Declonius on his side.

Paul explains why Dexter hates Batter so much. Dexter trusted his father and loved Peck & Peck. If Declonius said not to hire someone because he is a liar, a cheater, and homophobic, Dexter took that at face value. Batter must be all those things, and thus, Dexter tried to get him fired. This is the first sign that Dexter started to trust his father again.

Andy did not want to destroy the building. He was trying to get the Salton and Declonius to see the best in each other. Andy was actually the one letting Declonius into the building the entire time. Andy feels terrible that he set the fire, especially after Batter published his poem in Issue 324.

Paul and Dexter are dating and in love.

Xing Xing could not get him released, but made sure he stayed safe while in jail.

While in jail, Batter had to attend group therapy. Everyone was supposed to recall a good day from their past. One of the inmates described his childhood in Minneapolis. He told the group about a time a dog gave him a $100 bill. Nobody believed him until Batter declared, “It happened.” All the Batter the dog stories are true.

Peck & Peck Summary: Court Case

Batter is questioned about the financial ledgers from Salton’s office. He feels like something is off, but he cannot put his finger on what. Salton is yelling in the courtroom and is put in a holding cell for contempt. The judge gives a 30-minute recess.

Batter tells Paul that there is something wrong. He feels like Sulton was the one who embezzled the money and set up Declonius to take the fall.

Paul calls Salton to the stand. He asks specifically about the typewriters at Peck & Peck. Everyone there uses an IBM Selectric I.

Paul then calls Rainy Gray to the stand. Once on the stand, she does her magic. Even though the pages from different typewriters look the same. Rainey can tell the difference between a Selectric I and a Selectric II. She explains the dual-pitch option and half-spacing features of the newer typewriter.

Salton starts screaming in the courtroom. He declares that Andy could not follow through on a simple instruction to burn the building down. He then admits that he is the one who stole the diary and sold it. The courtroom erupts. Salton is taken into custody.

The case is dismissed!

Batter is found guilty of illegally tampering with the company’s quarterly, specifically the Peck & Peck masthead, as well as the contents found within. He was cleared of intellectual property theft as well because all the poets signed affidavits clearing Batter of wrongful publishing. He is sentenced to six months in jail, but is given early parole for time served.

Salton was released from jail after three days and instantly relocated to Andorra. Declonius was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and given a year to live.

When Andi did not come to work after the trial, Batter went to see if he was OK. He went to his apartment, which was absolutely huge.

He wanders around, looking for Andy and hopes that he is not going to find him injured. He finds a small office with a desk and a folding chair inside. He sees NO on notices from floor to ceiling. There are hundreds or thousands of rejection letters from Peck & Peck. On the desk sits an IBM Selectric II, and in the carriage is a Peck & Peck ledger sheet.

Batter is now working as a parolee in the mailroom of Peck & Peck. Inside, he sees a note that says to send an automatic rejection to Andrew Smith. Two weeks later, he receives a letter from Andy.

On his first day back in the copyroom, Batter receives a tube with copy instructions. Included is a welcome back and instructions to “ASK HER OUT”. Wren is waiting at the door

Peck & Peck Summary: 8 Months Later

Paul and Dexter decide to get married, even though it will not be legally recognized. The only thing ruining their happily ever after is that Paul is HIV-positive.

Declonius dies. Batter and Wren have each other to help them through their grief. One of the night nurses who helped take care of Declonius hands Batter a tiny piece of paper that Declonius had in his hand when he died. She said he had a visitor that night whom she had not seen before. In his hand was a poem by T.S. Eliot. Andy had not failed in his attempts to get Salton and Declonius together.

Peck & Peck Summary: 5 Years Later

Howard and Lou retired as the editors of Peck & Peck. They passed down the positions to twins, Dexter and Batter. Paul is healthy due to his AZT treatment, and Wren and Batter are happily married.

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus Character Guide

Main Characters

• Batter Gray- main protagonist of the story. Aspiring poet
• Batter the Dog- Batter the human’s namesake
• Rainey Gray- Batter’s mother, professional type designer
• John Gray – Batter’s Father, a historian at the local community college
• Paul Acheson- Batter’s College roommate and friend
• Salton Peck- Editor in Chief of Peck & Peck, mild hemophilia
• Andy- Security guard
• Declonius Peck- Previous Editor in Chief of Peck & Peck, spent time in jail for embezzlement

More Characters

• Mrs. Barksdale – Fourth grade teacher
• Dr. Doug Payne – history professor
• Mrs. Martin – Elementary school librarian
• June- Batter’s first girlfriend
• Mr. Raley- Boss at Just Okay
• Dexter York- Salton Peck’s Assistant
• Xing Xing Yao- 25 year old movie star
• Wren- Poet/ Girl of Batter’s Dreams *See above for spoilers
• Eduardo Jones- Poet
• Akio Fijikawa- Maintains the Peck & Peck topiaries

Editors at Peck & Peck

• Patrius and Argentio Peck- Twins, founders in 1900
• Cusp and Rye Peck- Twins, next editors of Peck & Peck
• Declonius and Salton Peck-Twins, current editors of Peck & Peck
• Dr. Tang- Jas a daughter with MS
• Howard Gadley
• Romanov
• Ng
• Slater
• Dhanial
• Alvarez
• Louisa Higgins- Senior Editor
• Sam Slater
• Gupta- Senior Editor and fluent in 11 languages
• Mira Vito- Junior editor, and Salton Peck’s daughter
• Hernandez

IN

That’s your shortcode to put it. It’s live now – the workflow. I caught a mistake in the tree pines printable so fixing that quickly tooSERT CALL OUT A SECOND TIME

What to Read After Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Frequently Asked Questions

Epilogue

Did you like my summary of Peck & Peck? Will you choose Peck & Peck by Bonnie for your next book club?