35 pages 1 hour read

Ayi Kwei Armah

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1969

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Chapters 4-6

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary

The man walks home slowly. He passes life on the street: people selling fruit and food, a mother and a sick infant, a prostitute. He watches a rich man buying bread from a street vendor. When the rich man sees the unnamed man, he says that he and his wife Estella (Estie) will come to the man’s house soon for dinner. Koomson tells the man to say hello to Estie, who’s sitting in the car, waiting. When the man shakes her hand, he cringes at the feeling of a copious amount of wet perfume that’s transferred from her hand to his.

Later, when the man sits on the bus going home, he realizes that he can recognize the places they pass by smell alone. The man has a quiet homecoming to his wife and children. The man feels guilty and ashamed when his wife tells him that she doesn’t understand why he won’t take bribes and become successful like Koomson.

Chapter 5 Summary

The man becomes restless at night and decides to go for a walk. He sees a naked man lying on a cot reading. The man enters the naked man’s house, and they listen to the radio together.

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