Chapter 34: Not Yet — Summary, Themes, and Analysis
⚠️ 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 Zelu returning home past midnight after the wake-keeping. She throws her coat on the couch, indifferent to the snow melting on it, and stands at the window staring at the blizzard over frozen Lake Michigan. Her father's face flashes in her mind and tears well up again. She tells Msizi she wishes she were a robot—no pain, no death, no finality. Msizi counters that robots experience all of that too, and suggests she talk to his cousin iNdonsa, who is not afraid of death.
The family has decided that Secret will be buried in Mbaise, Nigeria. Their uncles and auntie flew from Mbaise when they heard of their brother's death and insisted on the burial there. Zelu's mother cried about him being buried an ocean away but understood it was the only thing to do, acknowledging that Secret had multiple homes.
Zelu checks her inbox and sees the two-week-old email from Jack Preston inviting her on his space mission. She had already sent a reply declining, saying she needed to spend time with her family. Preston responded with condolences, noting his contacts had told him what happened.
A sibling video call begins with Chinyere asking how everyone is. Chinyere asks Zelu to stay at the house with their mother for the next two weeks. Zelu agrees, though she had been looking forward to solitude while Msizi traveled to Durban.
The family firmly agreed that Amarachi and Zelu would stay back from the Nigeria funeral. Years ago, their father had instructed that the family shouldn't all travel together, saying anything can happen back home. Their mother insisted they honor this. Amarachi was to stay because she was too hotheaded—she had shouted obscenities at the uncles about Igbo traditions, cursing kola nuts, yams, and patriarchal terrorism. Zelu had burst out laughing, proud of her sister. Zelu was to stay because she was too famous; her presence could ruin the event, and her exos would attract too much attention.
Two days later, Zelu packs a small suitcase and calls an autonomous vehicle. Entering her parents' house, she notices her father's coat is no longer on the rack. She finds her mother in the bedroom, looking at old yellowed photos of her and Secret. Her mother says she doesn't think she'll ever be all right again, but she's better than she was.
The next day, her mother's group of Ondo society women come by. Her mother spends the morning cooking, tidying, and preparing herself with formal makeup. Zelu questions why she's going to such lengths. Her mother explains that women judge. Chinyere and Amarachi stop by—they've been to the funeral home making the last payment. Their mother mentions she likes Amanda Parker's twists, the journalist who interviewed Zelu. Zelu frowns at the memory of being ambushed and canceled on national TV.
The day of the funeral in Nigeria, Zelu spends the morning in Chicago with Amarachi, Jackie, and Msizi. Tolu streams the entire ceremony. Zelu is sickened by the sight of her father's body paraded around. Her mother looks miserable, sitting in what looks like a cage. When the family returns, they meet at the airport with hugging and crying. Her mother brings Zelu and Amarachi a bag with stock fish, jars of ogbono and egusi, new clothes, and a colorfully beaded mask.
Tolu's wife Folashade gives birth to their first child, a daughter, nine months after the funeral.
On her mother's birthday, Zelu surprises her by taking her to Amazon's World, Chicago's most famous black hair salon. Zelu has scheduled an appointment. When the autonomous vehicle arrives, her mother is afraid and refuses to get in. Zelu reminds her that she and her father came to America with nothing but their sharp minds, facing their fears. Her mother relents, gets in, and screams with exhilaration as the vehicle drives.
At the salon, her mother tells the stylist exactly what she wants. She says if Secret were alive, she would never do this—he wouldn't like it. The stylist tosses her wig in the wastebasket, and everyone applauds. Her mother's cornrows are undone, her hair washed and blow dried. During the funeral in Nigeria, part of Igbo tradition required the widowed wife to cut her hair; Zelu can see the spot where it was cut. The stylist gives her shoulder-length twists just like Amanda Parker. When her mother looks in the mirror, she cries, touches the twists, and says she is beautiful.
The birthday party is packed with family and society women. Reactions to the hair vary—Chinyere stares wide-eyed, Amarachi grabs Tolu's arm, Uzo loves it, Bola gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Auntie Constance hugs her without acknowledging the hair. A few society women frown. Her mother beams, shaking her twists with pride.
For the first anniversary of Secret's passing, everyone returns to Nigeria except Zelu. Her mother, who has graduated her twists to locs, goes. Zelu begs to go, offering to wear a mustache and wig, but her mother refuses, saying it's not safe. Zelu feels excluded, wondering if her mother also doesn't want people seeing her robot legs. She calls Hugo but doesn't answer when he calls back. She spends much of the day at the pier, gazing at Lake Michigan and thinking about how her father had danced the dance of the masquerade at that party so long ago.
Key Events
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Zelu expresses her grief to Msizi, wishing she were a robot; he counters that robots feel pain too
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The family decides Secret will be buried in Mbaise, Nigeria, per relatives' insistence
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Zelu declines Jack Preston's space mission invitation
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Chinyere asks Zelu to stay with their mother for two weeks; Zelu agrees
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Amarachi confronts the uncles about Igbo burial traditions; Zelu is assigned to stay behind due to fame
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Zelu moves in with her mother, who grieves privately over old photos
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The family watches the Nigeria funeral via stream; Zelu's mother looks miserable
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Folashade gives birth to Tolu's daughter nine months after the funeral
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On her mother's birthday, Zelu takes her to Amazon's World salon for twists and her first autonomous vehicle ride
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At the first anniversary of Secret's death, Zelu stays behind alone and spends the day at the pier
Character Development
Zelu moves from wanting isolation to embracing family duty. She initially resents being asked to stay with her mother, wanting to sulk alone in her high-rise, but she agrees and shows genuine care—taking her mother to the salon, encouraging her through fear of the autonomous vehicle, and celebrating her transformation. Her grief is complicated by fame: she can't attend her father's funeral or the anniversary in Nigeria because her presence would be a security risk. She feels excluded, wondering if her mother also doesn't want people seeing her robot legs.
Omoshalewa undergoes a significant transformation. She grieves privately, admits she'll never be all right again, but gradually heals. Her decision to get twists like Amanda Parker's—a style she admires but that isn't traditionally hers—represents a break from tradition and from what her husband would have liked. She tells the stylist to throw away her wig, a symbolic rejection of her old self. She also overcomes her fear of autonomous vehicles, showing courage that Zelu celebrates.
Amarachi shows her hotheaded protectiveness, shouting at the uncles about Igbo traditions, which leads to her being kept from the funeral.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Grief and mortality: Zelu's wish to be a robot to escape pain, and Msizi's reminder that robots experience pain too, frames mortality as inescapable. iNdonsa's view that death is the best thing about being human offers an alternative perspective.
Tradition vs modernity: The burial in Mbaise versus the family's American life; the mother's concession to Igbo hair-cutting tradition versus her later reinvention at the salon.
Hair as identity: The mother's twists represent self-reinvention and healing. The wig she throws away symbolizes the old expectations she's shedding. The cut chunk from the funeral symbolizes tradition's demands.
Technology and fear: The autonomous vehicle ride represents facing fear. Zelu's exos and fame isolate her from Nigeria.
Fame as isolation: Zelu can't attend her father's funeral or the anniversary because of her fame, a cost of her success.
Mother-daughter bond: Zelu's care for her mother deepens through the two weeks and the birthday outing.
Nigerian diaspora: The pull of home, the need for alignment with the homeland, even for American-born children.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter shows Zelu's growth from a self-focused writer into someone who steps up for family, even when it costs her solitude and comfort. It also gives the mother a meaningful arc of healing and reinvention, showing that grief doesn't end but can transform. The chapter explores the cost of fame in a concrete way—Zelu literally cannot attend her father's funeral or the anniversary in Nigeria. The hair salon scene is a turning point for the mother, and the pier scene at the end ties back to the masquerade dance, connecting grief, memory, and the father's legacy.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Zelu's mother insist she stay behind from Nigeria, and what does this reveal about the cost of fame?
Her mother believes Zelu is too famous. A prominent man's funeral in the village would attract attention, and people would be watching specifically for Zelu, the world-famous writer. Her presence could ruin the event. This reveals that fame, which Zelu worked hard to achieve, now isolates her from her family's most important rituals and from her homeland.
2. How does the hair transformation scene represent the mother's healing and reinvention?
The mother chooses twists like Amanda Parker's—a style she admires but that isn't traditionally hers. She tells the stylist to throw away her wig, symbolically rejecting her old self and the expectations of others. She says if Secret were alive, she would never do this, showing she's moving beyond what her husband would have wanted. The twists represent her reclaiming her identity after grief.
3. What does the robot conversation with Msizi reveal about Zelu's view of mortality?
Zelu wishes she were a robot to escape pain, death, and finality. Msizi counters that robots experience all of that too, suggesting that pain is inherent to existence. He offers iNdonsa's perspective that death is the best thing about being human. This conversation frames the chapter's exploration of grief: Zelu must accept mortality as part of being human, not escape it.
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