#197 The Shivering- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It is a horrible day in Nigeria. The first lady has died and
a plane has crashed killing everyone aboard. In Princeton two Nigerian
strangers living in the same building are drawn together to pray.
They develop the type of relationship that only disaster can
create, together tentative and deeply meaningful. Ukamaka’s ex-boyfriend was
supposed to be on the plane but missed his flight. She talks about him a lot.
“How can you love somebody and yet want to manage the amount
of happiness that person is allowed?”
Chinedu is a very religious person who is open about his
faith but protective and closed-off about everything else.
“Everybody has a crisis of faith. It’s normal.”
Their relationship gets strained over the weeks they know
each other. Despite there obvious connection as foreigners living in a strange
country, they have little else in common. She is academic, he’s a construction
worker, he’s Pentecostal, she’s catholic. How deep do national connections go?
Time will tell.
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