Summary

In Part Seven, Chapter 57, “Invictus, 1959, Managers Mansion in the village of M—,” when Lenin Evermore is nine, his parents Lizzi and Kora, and his baby sister fall ill. In the morning, he discovers they are all dead. He races out in search of help. A woman named Acca guesses his family died of smallpox. When Lenin says he wished he died, Acca assures him God spared him “for a reason” (471). Back at the hut, he lies next to Lizzi and prays. He feels held by an angel.

In Chapter 58, “Light the Lamp, 1959, Parambil,” Big Ammachi tells eight-year-old Mariamma stories about her parents. She constantly reminds Mariamma she is special. She often thinks of Mariamma’s “harrowing birth” and Philipose’s “uncharitable response” (475). Then Mariamma asks Big Ammachi what she imagined for her future when she was little. Big Ammachi “imagined exactly this” (476).

In...