Chapter 23 Summary: The Interview

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with Tolu narrating a memory from a family visit to their father's village in Igboland, Nigeria, during the Christmas season. The family had already spent a week in Lagos and a week at the palace in west Yorubaland. Tolu, about fourteen, was relieved to be out of the palace, where he felt the weight of expectations as the oldest son. Zelu, nineteen and in her first year of college, was already outside in her wheelchair.

Zelu offered Tolu a joint—his first time smoking weed, and hers as well. They smoked together on the front steps while the extended family meeting began inside. When they entered the meeting room, both struggled to suppress laughter. The room was full of relatives, and everything seemed absurdly funny to them. They sat beside grand-aunties Nnenna and Grace, who frowned at them, likely detecting the smell.

The meeting's central drama involved their cousin Osundu, a twenty-five-year-old who drove a kabu kabu in Lagos and was known as the shadiest person in the family. Grandfather accused Osundu of stealing a generator from an uncle. Osundu denied it, but five cousins testified against him. When grandfather struck him, Osundu confessed, saying he'd sold it and couldn't pay. He stormed out in tears.

That evening, Tolu pushed Zelu's wheelchair to the backyard of the old family house—the one their father grew up in. Zelu directed him to their great-grandfather's shrine, called an obi, meaning 'home' or 'heart' in Igbo. She explained that Grandfather still comes there to talk to his parents. Tolu was afraid of the ancestor statues, having been warned by aunties to avoid the area. Zelu touched one of the statues without hesitation. She then pointed out stars, including Orion and the Milky Way, which Tolu had never seen before.

Tolu reflects that this was the first time he saw Zelu as a human being rather than a spirit. When she lost her ability to walk—he was seven at the time—he feared she would die or kill herself. Instead, he watched her 'become,' and he came to see her as a kind of superhero. But that evening, sharing the stars and the shrine, he began to see her as a real person.

That night, the weed gave Tolu strange dreams. In the dream, he was back at the obi. His father appeared as a tall masquerade, pruning a vine growing on one of the ancestor statues. Then Zelu came through the yard, walking on robot legs, a robot herself, strutting past him laughing and confident. Tolu never told Zelu about this dream. He reflects that he's a lawyer, not an artist, and the dream might be the most creative thing he's ever conceived. He insists that Zelu is no robot—she's all human and felt everything deeply.

Key Events

Zelu shares a joint with Tolu, his first experience with marijuana
The family meeting where Grandfather confronts Osundu about stealing a generator
Osundu's denial, confession after being struck, and tearful exit
The evening visit to the great-grandfather's obi shrine
Zelu points out Orion and the Milky Way to Tolu
Tolu's dream of his father as a masquerade and Zelu walking on robot legs

Character Development

Tolu: This chapter reveals Tolu's adolescent perspective and his evolving view of his sister. His fear of the ancestor statues shows his discomfort with the supernatural, while his reflection on seeing Zelu as human marks a significant shift in their relationship. As an adult narrator, he frames the memory with the hindsight of a lawyer who recognizes the dream as his most creative act.

Zelu: Though seen through Tolu's eyes, Zelu emerges as confident, curious, and resilient. She asks Grandfather about the shrine, touches the ancestor statue without fear, knows the stars, and shares her knowledge generously. Her college years have shaped her—she's reading authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Osundu: The cousin is portrayed as the family's problem child—shady, in and out of college due to strikes, living in a poor Lagos apartment. His theft of the generator and his tearful exit reveal both his guilt and his wounded pride.

Grandfather: The family patriarch who leads the meeting, demands confession, and maintains the connection to the ancestors through his visits to the obi.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Sibling bonding: The chapter is fundamentally about Tolu and Zelu's relationship. The shared joint, the suppressed laughter, and the evening at the shrine create intimacy between siblings who had previously been distant.

Cultural identity and language loss: Tolu notes that none of the kids can speak Igbo, despite their father's efforts to teach them. He knows more Yoruba than Igbo because their mother's relatives were more open to teaching. This language loss sits alongside the family's continued participation in traditions like the obi shrine.

Ancestral veneration: The obi shrine represents the family's connection to their great-grandfather. Grandfather still visits to talk to his parents. Zelu engages with this tradition by asking questions and touching the statue, while Tolu holds back in fear.

Disability and resilience: Zelu's wheelchair is a constant presence. Tolu's memory of her losing her ability to walk and his fear that she might die or kill herself gives way to his admiration of how she 'became.' The chapter insists on her humanity—she's not a spirit or a superhero, but a person who feels deeply.

Dreams and the subconscious: Tolu's dream combines the masquerade tradition with technology—his father as a masquerade, Zelu walking on robot legs. The dream suggests a reconciliation of tradition and modernity, and it becomes a private treasure Tolu keeps to himself.

Masquerade tradition: The father appearing as a masquerade in the dream connects to Igbo cultural traditions of masquerades as spiritual figures.

Technology and the body: The robot legs in the dream imagine a future where Zelu's disability is overcome through technology, but Tolu immediately counters this by insisting she's 'no robot.'

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the reader's understanding of Tolu and Zelu's relationship, showing the formative moment when Tolu began to see his sister as a human being. It also grounds the novel in Nigerian cultural contexts—the family meeting, the obi shrine, the masquerade tradition—while exploring themes of language loss and cultural identity. The dream sequence introduces a striking image of technology and the body that resonates with the novel's broader concerns. Tolu's framing as a lawyer who considers the dream his most creative act adds a layer of self-awareness to the narration.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Tolu describe the evening at the obi as the first time he saw Zelu as a human being?

Tolu had always viewed Zelu as a spirit or superhero because of how she transformed after losing her ability to walk. He was seven when it happened and feared she would die or kill herself. Instead, she 'became,' and he came to see her as something almost supernatural. But at the shrine, sharing the stars and the ancestor statues, he saw her as a real person—someone who asked questions, who knew things, who was awesome in a human way.

2. What does the obi shrine represent, and why is Tolu afraid of it?

The obi is the great-grandfather's shrine, a place of ancestral veneration where Grandfather still comes to talk to his parents. It represents the family's cultural and spiritual heritage. Tolu is afraid because the aunties warned him to avoid the area, and he has a nagging fear that the ancestor statues could come to life. Zelu, by contrast, engages with the shrine without fear, touching the statue and explaining its meaning.

3. How does Tolu's dream connect to the chapter's themes?

The dream brings together several threads: the father as a masquerade (Igbo tradition), Zelu walking on robot legs (technology and the body), and the setting at the obi (ancestral connection). It imagines a future where Zelu's disability is overcome through technology while tradition remains present. Tolu never tells her about the dream, keeping it as a private creative act—something he, as a lawyer, considers his most imaginative creation.