Chapter Twenty-seven Summary

⚠️ 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

Maddie and her mother visit a funeral director to begin arranging her father's funeral. The director, Ros, is a middle-aged woman with a gentle but slow manner, and Maddie finds the pace of the paperwork almost unbearable. Ros asks Maddie to describe her father, explaining that the funeral home wants to know him a bit better. Maddie struggles to answer, offering only that he liked watching television, mainly football and the news, and that he used to buy newspapers on Sundays. She admits her memory is poor, feeling like a selfish daughter who never took interest in her dad.

Her mother interjects with details Maddie never knew: her father used to make traditional pepper soup and had worked as a librarian before Maddie was born, until he took a better-paying job at a private school. Mum also notes that Maddie's love of reading comes from him. Maddie is surprised by this revelation, having never known about his librarian past.

The conversation moves to flowers and other funeral details, but Maddie is distracted and anxious. Then Mum asks Ros for clippings of her father's fingernails and toenails, explaining that his brother and sister will scatter them in Ghana. Ros recognizes this as a Ghanaian tradition and agrees to include it. Ros then offers Maddie her father's fingerprint, which Maddie eagerly accepts, feeling that a piece of her dad remains.

Ros calls the cemetery and reports that the earliest available burial date is Saturday, August 21st—ten days away. Maddie is frustrated by the wait, but Ros explains that only certain days are available. They then discuss burial clothes and items for the casket. Mum has brought too many clothes and says she will consult a friend and return alone the next day to finalize the choices, adding that if you do things wrong for the dead, they can come back and haunt you.

On the train home, Maddie finally breathes. She observes other passengers, including a woman reading a prayer booklet, and feels an urge to shout that she shouldn't believe anything it says—yet she isn't sure what she no longer believes.

Key Events

Maddie and Mum meet with funeral director Ros to arrange the funeral.
Maddie struggles to describe her father, revealing her limited knowledge of his life.
Mum reveals that Dad was a librarian and made pepper soup, details Maddie never knew.
Mum requests nail clippings for a Ghanaian tradition of scattering them in Ghana.
Ros offers Maddie her father's fingerprint, which she accepts.
The earliest burial date is set for August 21st, ten days away.
Mum decides to return alone the next day to finalize burial clothes and casket items.
On the train, Maddie reflects on her shifting beliefs and feels a vague urge to reject religious texts.

Character Development

Maddie is overwhelmed by grief and the bureaucratic process of death. Her anxiety manifests physically—she bounces her leg, pinches her skin, and clenches her jaw. She feels inadequate when she cannot describe her father, but the chapter also shows her growing awareness of how little she knew about him. Her reaction to the fingerprint offer reveals her desperate need to hold onto something tangible of her dad. Her internal monologue about the funeral home's slow process and her imagined table-flipping shows her frustration and dark humor.

Mum emerges as a source of knowledge about Dad's past, filling in gaps Maddie never knew existed. Her insistence on following traditions and consulting a friend shows her commitment to doing things correctly, even if Maddie finds it superstitious. The dynamic between mother and daughter is strained but also reveals a shared grief.

Ros is a minor but significant character, representing the impersonal yet oddly intimate nature of funeral bureaucracy. She is patient and knowledgeable about cultural traditions, which contrasts with Maddie's impatience.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Funeral bureaucracy: The slow, detailed process of arranging a funeral is depicted as both necessary and maddening, highlighting the disconnect between grief and administrative tasks.
Grief and memory: Maddie's inability to recall details about her father underscores how grief can expose the gaps in our knowledge of loved ones.
Ghanaian funeral traditions: The request for nail clippings and the scattering of remains in Ghana reflects cultural practices that Maddie is unfamiliar with, emphasizing the theme of cultural heritage and family secrets.
Parental knowledge gap: Mum's revelations about Dad's past show that children often know less about their parents than they assume.
Anxiety and waiting: The ten-day wait for the burial and the slow pace of the meeting amplify Maddie's anxiety and sense of helplessness.
Keepsakes: The fingerprint serves as a symbolic keepsake, offering Maddie a physical connection to her father.
Religious doubt: Maddie's urge to shout at the prayer booklet on the train signals her internal struggle with faith, a theme that will likely develop further.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens Maddie's character by exposing her grief, frustration, and the painful realization that she didn't know her father as well as she thought. It also introduces important cultural elements—the Ghanaian tradition of nail clippings and the scattering of remains—that add depth to the family's heritage. The chapter sets up the funeral timeline and the emotional weight of the upcoming burial, while also planting seeds for Maddie's evolving beliefs. The mother-daughter dynamic is further explored, showing how they navigate grief together despite their differences.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Maddie struggle to describe her father to Ros?

Maddie struggles because she realizes she knows very little about her father's life before his illness. She can only recall superficial details like watching TV and reading newspapers, and she feels guilty about this. Her father was private and didn't share much, and Maddie's focus was on caring for him rather than learning about his past.

2. What does Mum's revelation about Dad's past reveal about the family dynamic?

Mum's revelation that Dad was a librarian and made pepper soup shows that she holds knowledge about him that Maddie never had. This highlights the gap between what children know and what parents keep private. It also suggests that Mum and Dad had a shared history that Maddie wasn't part of, and that Mum may have been more involved in Dad's life before his illness.

3. How does Maddie's reaction to the prayer booklet on the train reflect her internal state?

Maddie's urge to shout at the woman reading a prayer booklet, telling her not to believe anything it says, reflects her own religious doubt and confusion. She doesn't know exactly what she no longer believes, but her grief has shaken her faith. This moment shows her internal turmoil and sets up a potential exploration of belief in later chapters.