In the chapter featuring Ebenezer, we learn of a girl with long hair who previously walked through the market and whom Ebenezer sees arguing on the day of the riots. What did you make of the many ways the friends are enmeshed? How does the author present a wide spectrum of expressing feeling and affection through physical touch?ĩ. Vivek and Juju share a kiss, and after Vivek’s death, Osita and Juju sleep together. When they were younger, Osita and Elizabeth were an item, and later Osita is with Vivek and Elizabeth is with Juju. How do these varied responses pull them apart, and how are they ultimately able to push past these tensions?Ĩ. After Vivek’s death, Osita, Kavita, Chika, and Juju all cope with their grief differently-by running away to party, by pushing for answers, by hiding in bed, or by falling silent. What is most important in building a group of friends? How does the Nigerwives’ shared identity as outsiders bring them together despite their individual differences?ħ. When she was younger, Juju expressed skepticism about the community the Nigerwives had built around their shared identity, but when she is older she falls into easy community with Vivek, Osita, and the girls. What does the necklace represent about Vivek’s identity and ancestry? What does it mean that he wore it until the end of his life, despite the alterations he made to his appearance?Ħ.
After Vivek’s death, Kavita is very concerned with finding his Ganesh necklace, and at the end of the book, it is the one item of Vivek’s that Osita keeps. How did you interpret Vivek’s fugues? Could Osita have dealt with these and his relationship with Vivek better, or is he excused because of his age? Were you surprised when Osita and Vivek become intimate later? How does their relationship change in the intervening years?ĥ. When the boys are in school, Osita does not comprehend Vivek’s fugue states, and these ultimately lead to the cousins' falling-out. What actions do the girls take to make Vivek feel comfortable and secure? If a biological family is unable to accept a child, can friendships be a sufficient replacement?Ĥ.
As Vivek grows more uncomfortable with his family at home, he finds solace with the daughters of the Nigerwives. How are these stacks of photographs connected? Did you draw any meaning from the use of photographs, as opposed to words or physical mementos?ģ. Near the end of the book, Osita and the girls visit Kavita with a stack of photographs to tell Vivek’s story. In the second chapter, the narrator tells us that this story could be told through a stack of photographs. How did knowing that Vivek has already died shape your reading experience? What is suggested by framing the book in this way?Ģ. "They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died." The novel begins in the aftermath of Vivek Oji’s death, despite his being the titular character.
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