Book 3, Chapter 17 Summary

It is breakfast. Atie keeps her head down as she eats. Sophie does not eat much. Grandme Ifé and Sophie go to the market, where they buy beans. Louise, at her stand selling colas, asks if they have come to buy her pig. Ifé and Sophie ignore her.

At the market, they witness an argument between a Macoute and a coal vendor. The Macoute slams the back of his gun into the vendor's ribs. Ifé tells Sophie they should get out of there—she knows what happens next. On the way home, Ifé talks about Atie's recent behavior. She says Atie has changed a lot, and not just by learning to read.

Book 3, Chapter 17 Analysis

Atie's cowed or seemingly repentant behavior at breakfast, along with Ifé's and Sophie's discussion on the way home from the market, furthers the suspicion that...