Summary
Part 4 begins with Aoro, who is now in medical school. In his anatomy class where they are dissecting cadavers for the first time, he meets Wandia Mugo, a fellow student. They develop a healthy rivalry, both vying for the top position in class. In the end, Wandia beats Aoro by one point. Aoro’s pride is hurt, especially because she is a woman, but he invites her to coffee anyway. With respect, he tells Wandia she’s a “tough lady” which disappoints her; she says that as a doctor you also have to be caring toward patients. Aoro begins to really see Wandia for the first time and is drawn to her. He asks to write to her during the holidays but she declines, not wanting to be bogged down by a relationship so early into medical school.
Time jumps and Aoro is now an intern at a hospital, with only two weeks left before he becomes a registered doctor. As with most interns, he works nonstop, often working 36-hour shifts with little to no breaks. Exhausted, Aoro goes about his duties in the obstetrics unit, sneaking in sleep and food when he can. Wandia is interning at another hospital two hours away, and the two are dating now but with their busy and conflicting schedules it is rare they get the chance to see one another. Wandia stops by Aoro's apartment on her way to visit her mother, who is sick with diabetes. Wandia’s mother raised five children on her own after Wandia’s father died, farming to provide for them, and Wandia loves and respects her mother deeply. Suddenly, Wandia asks Aoro if they are ever going to get married; they have known each other for six years and she is tired of waiting. Shocked at having a woman propose, Aoro accepts, saying he’s always loved her. He promises to meet her mother when he finishes his internship in two weeks.
Wandia and her mother are of the Kikuyu tribe. Wandia’s mother has a creased face, aged prematurely from a life of hard work, and more recently, from the toll diabetes has taken on her body. Her foot became infected as a complication of diabetes, but she is more worried about returning to the coffee plants she grows. Wandia is relieved to find her mother’s wound is healing and urges her to rest. She asks her mother if she minds that Aoro is not from the Kikuyu tribe, and her mother says that being able to communicate in the same language is important in a marriage, but otherwise she has no reservations and looks forward to recovering so she can meet him. Wandia’s mother is a devout Chrisitan; Wandia herself is agnostic, preferring to put her faith in medicine but acknowledging the strength that faith has given her mother.
Wandia goes to visit her sister Esther and Esther's children. Due to her busy work schedule, she has not had a chance to visit, and she meets her sister’s youngest, a six-month-old baby, for the first time. The sisters catch up on the rest of the family, worrying about their brother and his need to be careful with his sexual partners in the midst of the AIDS epidemic that is beginning to affect Kenya. Esther teaches at a school where her husband Michael is the headmaster. He is a proud Kikuyu and introduces himself as such to people. Wandia shares with Esther that she and Aoro plan to get married, Esther wonders if her sister will be happy marrying someone from another tribe, warning that what seem like small differences now can feel bigger once married.
Wandia and Aoro head to meet his parents. Aoro is nervous thinking of how Wandia’s family welcomed him wholeheartedly and hoping his family does the same with her. He tells Wandia about the tension he had with his father in the past, and Wandia notes that Aoro is still scared of his father. The point of view shifts to Elizabeth, who, while waiting for her son Aoro to visit, thinks back on the rest of their children. She remembers how shocked they were when Becky married a white man and then later got divorced after she had an affair. Becky now lives with her two children and is financially well off but unhappy. Tony decided to become a priest and Vera joined Opus Dei, an institution within the Catholic Church. She continues to work as a successful electronics expert but has decided to dedicate her life to work and God, foregoing marriage and children. All of this news shocked Mark, and although he has come to accept it once he saw his children were happy, Elizabeth hopes Aoro brings home a nice Luo girl and that they’ll have many children.
Elizabeth takes an instant liking to Wandia and the two of them go off into the kitchen, giving Aoro a chance to talk with his father. Mark has doubts about his son’s marriage. He holds stereotypes of the Kikuyu people, believing them to be greedy and questions whether Aoro, having so recently started his career, will be able to meet Wandia’s expectations. Aoro pushes back on his father, defending Wandia and pointing out that her mother is not even asking for a bride price. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Wandia get along well talking about Aoro, their future together, and the rest of the family.
Wandia and Aoro get married and Wandia and her sister-in-law Vera become close friends. Vera and Becky remain distant. Vera disapproves of Becky’s lifestyle, worrying that her frequent, casual dating is having a negative impact on her children, Alicia and Johnny. Becky gets defensive when Vera suggests the children should live with their parents or Becky’s ex-husband. In discussing the matter with Vera, Wandia points out that the law is on Becky’s side. Wandia also notes that Becky has lost a lot of weight, and given her sexual history wonders if it could be AIDS. Eventually the conversation is brought short when Wandia, pregnant with twins, goes into labor.
The narration jumps to five years later. Wandia is looking at her son Daniel, who was born with Down syndrome while his twin sister Lisa was not. At first, Aoro and Wandia were shocked, but with time Wandia grew to love her son who is a happy child. The narrator fills in that Becky died of AIDS two years ago. Leading up to her death, she continued to push everyone away, suffering alone however she left her affairs in order, making sure her children were financially provided for and appointing her twin sister Vera as guardian of her children. It is decided that Wandia and Aoro will adopt them, and Alicia and Johnny have adapted well to living in their home. Suddenly having to provide for four children, Aoro grows up fast, taking on the new responsibility. In the present, Wandia is coping with the news that Daniel has Leukemia, a type of cancer that attacks blood cells. Wandia is devastated. Taking Daniel to a specialist, they learn Daniel’s leukemia is not aggressive and treatment is possible. With this glimmer of hope, Wandia turns to God for the first time, praying to him to help Daniel survive.
Daniel recovers and Wandia pursues research in hematology, studying diseases of the blood, and becoming a lecturer at a university. She receives a prestigious scholarship to study for a year at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, but is conflicted about leaving Aoro for a year with their five children. Aoro, who now works in a private practice, encourages Wandia to take the opportunity, assuring her that they can get family such as his younger sister Mary to help out. They go with the children to visit Elizabeth, and find that her and Wandia’s bond has only strengthened over time; Aoro is surprised that his mother and wife are so close. The impromptu visit turns into a family reunion, and Aoro’s siblings Tony, Odongo, and Opiyo are all there. Elizabeth seconds Aoro’s encouragement that Wandia should take the opportunity in Baltimore, much to Wandia’s relief. Brothers Aoro and Tony catch up, and Tony mentions that he’s considering writing a book about their great-grandmother Akoko.
Wandia receives a doctorate in medicine from the University of Nairobi’s School of Medicine where she works, becoming the first Kenyan woman to do so. Her family proudly watches. Her marriage with Aoro is strong, both supporting one another and their six children. Family and friends join them to celebrate after. In a flashback, Johnny, Becky’s son, talks with his adoptive mother Wandia about wanting to change his last name from Courtney to Sigu. She urges him to accept his mixed race and forgive his father for leaving. With the children in bed, the adults enjoy the rare opportunity to relax and catch up. Elizabeth watches them happily. When going to check on the sleeping children, she experiences an attack of dizziness and understands she will soon die. She lies in bed with her husband Mark and gets lost in memories. The next day, on the drive home, Elizabeth dies. A large group of family, friends, and former students come to her funeral. Her cousin Bishop Peter Owuor Kembo, and son Father Tony lead the mass, while Mark sits by her coffin and grapples with his grief. Her children linger, standing by their mother’s grave; eventually, they wander away, being pulled back to life. Elizabeth is buried near her daughter Becky.
Analysis
Ever since his brother Tony’s appendectomy as a child, Aoro has been interested in medicine. Following his passion and buckling down with his schoolwork, he is on his way to becoming a doctor. Aoro and Wandia develop a healthy rivalry in medical school, and eventually after Aoro pursues Wandia their relationship turns into a romantic one. As interns, Aoro and Wandia are assigned to different hospitals. At the bottom of the medical hierarchy they are overworked and must put their personal lives on hold in order to pursue their careers. With only two weeks left, Aoro longingly thinks of the freedom he’ll have when he becomes a doctor.
Wandia’s mother is suffering from an infection in her foot, a complication of diabetes. Worried about her mother, Wandia wants to go home with good news, and on the way she confronts Aoro, asking whether they will ever get married. Now that they've known each other for six years, Wandia is tired of receiving pressure from her family about when she’ll marry. Aoro is surprised by the role reversal in a woman proposing to a man but loves Wandia and agrees. In the hospital, Wandia anxiously admonishes her mother about not being more careful, reminding her that infections can fester due to her diabetes. She shares the good news about her betrothal to Aoro and her mother promises to get well quickly so she can meet him.
They discuss her mother’s farm; Wandia loves her mother for being so devoted to her children and encourages her to take it easy now that her children are grown. After Wandia’s father died, her mother single-handedly provided for her five children. Her mother’s resilience, hard work, and strength are reminiscent of Akoko, as both women worked the land without the help of a man to provide for their children or grandchildren, bringing up again the themes of motherhood and female empowerment.
Wandia and Aoro come from different tribes; she is Kikuyu and he is Luo. In telling their families about their proposal, the discussion of tribal affiliation continues to come up, as family members question whether they would be happy with someone of another tribe. In Kenya, tribes speak different languages and sometimes practice different religions and customs. Up until now, all previous generations of Akoko’s family have married within the Luo tribe, with the glaring exception of Becky, who married a white man. Wandia and Aoro’s marriage represents another loosening of tradition.
As Elizabeth and Mark prepare to meet their new daughter-in-law, Elizabeth reflects back on the many shocks and disappointments she and Mark have faced regarding their children’s decisions. First, there was Becky’s marriage and divorce to a white man, which infuriated Mark. Afterwards, both Tony and Vera chose to lead a religious life, prohibiting them from marrying and having children. Their decisions are directly opposed to the high importance that Kenyan society places on having children and carrying on the family name. Mark especially struggles to come to terms with his children’s decisions, questioning Vera as to why she cannot marry. Their decisions are another example of the tension between leading a religious life and a traditional one.
As Elizabeth and Wandia get to know each other, they get to talking about Akoko. When Aoro was pursuing Wandia he would reference being Akoko’s grandson as a way of saying he never gives up. Elizabeth mentions that she sees much of Akoko in her daughter Vera—specifically, how wise she is. Akoko’s spirit is very much alive in the family, and she is remembered with respect and honor.
While Vera develops a relationship of mutual respect with her new sister-in-law, her relationship with Becky never recovers. Vera disapproves of her sister and worries about her niece and nephew. After her divorce, Becky is more focused on dating and seems to have no time for her children. In turn, Becky’s children turn away from her, and Alicia, her daughter, asks to live with her aunt Vera. Becky represents how society’s attitudes toward sexual behavior are changing. Unfortunately, the AIDS epidemic is sweeping through Kenya at this time and Becky gets sick and eventually dies. In her will, Becky reveals much of what she was unable to express in life. She acknowledges her shortcomings as a mother, but argues that in her own way she tried to take care of her children by providing for them financially. Becky has always respected her sister and entrusts her with deciding who will care for her children. Vera laments her sister’s passing, and questions why she was so bitter in life.
Wandia and Aoro end up adopting Becky’s two children, Alicia and Johnny. In addition, they have twins, Lisa and Daniel. Wandia remembers the shock they felt when they found out Daniel was born with Down syndrome. At the time, Aoro felt a sense of failure that he could not give Wandia a “perfect child,” revealing ableist views present in society. Wandia grows to love Daniel with devotion and five years pass until Daniel is diagnosed with leukemia. Desperate at the thought of losing her child, she turns to God, bargaining to attend church regularly if he only saves her son. Here modern medicine helps Daniel, something Nyabera did not have access to when her children fell ill. In this way, Wandia escapes the suffering that previous generations of women in her family faced with the loss of her child.
After Daniel’s recovery, Wandia becomes more interested in studying diseases of the blood. When offered a prestigious research position, she struggles with whether or not to leave her family for a year. With the added responsibility Wandia feels as caregiver, she feels guilty leaving and is at the point of putting her family's needs before her own career advancement. It is only with the encouragement of both Aoro and Elizabeth that she decides to take the opportunity, raising the theme of female empowerment and the need for women to have people in their lives who support their ambitions.
In a conversation between Aoro and his brother Tony, who is now a priest, Tony mentions how much their uncle Peter has told him about Akoko. He says their uncle would be glad to see all the children, because it would be a vindication for Akoko that her legacy lives on. Inspired by her incredible life, Tony thinks of writing a book about her. In the last chapter, the family gets together to celebrate Wandia’s graduation. The adults stay up late talking and relaxing, and Elizabeth checks on the children who are asleep. While doing so she feels dizzy, and, in an instance of foreshadowing, understands she will soon die. The next day Elizabeth passes away. In the last scene of the novel, family and friends all gather at Elizabeth’s funeral to bid her goodbye. Her children linger around their mother’s grave mourning their loss. Yet, as they have through the generations in their family, they resolve to meet suffering with resilience. In the novel's last lines, Ogola reminds the reader that even after death, life goes on.
