Summary

Chapter 5 begins in the third person from Osita’s point of view. Following Vivek’s death, Osita took a trip to Port Harcourt, where he drank excessively. After a few weeks, Kavita tracked him down and announced that she was taking him home. She had gone looking for Osita when she had been unable to find a charm that Vivek had worn around his neck. As Kavita drove Osita home, he recalled that he had hit a strange man in his hotel room who had begun to sexually assault him. He “compared memories of Vivek’s touch with that of the stranger” (44) and recalled that since Vivek had died, he had only had sex with women.

The charm Kavita was looking for, a silver pendant in a representation of Ganesh, had been a gift from Dr. Khatri. She had kept the charm for...