Ghostroots
“Ghostroots” by ‘Pemi Aguda is a debut short story collection set in Lagos, Nigeria, blending the mundane with the supernatural. The twelve stories explore themes of inheritance, maternal lineage, and haunting legacies, often focusing on women grappling with familial and societal burdens. Aguda’s prose weaves unsettling yet deeply human narratives, where everyday life intersects with spectral presences. Notable stories include “Breastmilk,” which delves into generational trauma. The collection has been praised for its elegant voice and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, marking Aguda as a significant new voice in contemporary literature.
The Hollow
by Aguda, ‘PemiArit, a young architect, arrives at Madam Oni’s house for a renovation assignment. The house strikes her as unattractive, with its chaotic roofs and peeling pink walls. Greeted by Lucky, a teenage gatekeeper, she learns Madam Oni is absent but proceeds to measure the property. The compound feels oppressive, with overgrown gardens and looming fences. As a junior at her firm, Arit is tasked with the groundwork, her mind already analyzing the space despite her limited role. She reflects on her uncle’s teachings about the essence of a house—questions of beauty, function, and client needs—as she steps inside.
The house’s interior is cool and eerily silent, with no visible air conditioning. Arit meticulously sketches the layout, but the design confounds her; rooms and corridors lack logical flow. The décor feels dated, with faded carpets, stucco walls, and vintage curtains. The absence of personal touches—no photos or art—adds to the house’s unsettling emptiness. As she moves through the space, her measurements become disjointed, mirroring the house’s resistance to coherence. The kitchen, with its stark marble counters, offers no respite, and the backyard’s wild growth contrasts sharply with the sterile interior.
Madam Oni suddenly appears, demanding Arit’s opinion on the house. Arit admits her confusion, and Madam Oni’s tone shifts from irritation to desperation, asking if the house can be “fixed.” Arit deflects, explaining her role is limited to measurements, not design solutions. Madam Oni’s weariness is palpable, and Arit senses an unspoken history haunting the space. The chapter intersperses Arit’s present task with fragmented glimpses of another woman’s traumatic past, hinting at a connection between the house’s dysfunction and hidden suffering.
Arit’s reflections return to her uncle’s lessons, emphasizing that a house is more than physical structure—it carries the weight of its inhabitants’ lives. The chapter closes with unresolved tension, as Arit grapples with the house’s enigmatic nature and Madam Oni’s unspoken anguish. The narrative suggests that the hollow feeling Arit senses stems from untold stories, leaving the reader to ponder the deeper meaning of home and the scars it may conceal.
FAQs
1. How does Arit’s initial impression of the house reflect her architectural perspective, and what does this reveal about her character?
Answer:
Arit’s first impression of the house as “ugly” with “too many roofs clambering over each other like crowded teeth” and “flaking walls the pink of a tongue” demonstrates her analytical, detail-oriented approach to architecture. Her visceral descriptions reveal her tendency to assess spaces critically, focusing on form and function. This aligns with her training—she immediately notices design flaws and begins brainstorming solutions, even though she’s only tasked with measurements. Her reaction also highlights her professional ambition (she wants to prove herself) and her uncle’s influence, as she recalls his philosophical questions about what makes a house beautiful. Her perspective blends practicality with deeper contemplation about spaces and their meaning.2. Analyze the significance of the recurring question “What is a house?” in the chapter. How does it connect to both Arit’s and Madam Oni’s experiences?
Answer:
The question “What is a house?” serves as a thematic anchor, linking Arit’s professional development with Madam Oni’s personal history. For Arit, it represents an architectural philosophy instilled by her uncle—a reminder that buildings must balance functionality, beauty, and client needs. Her struggle to map the illogical layout mirrors her unresolved answer to this question. For Madam Oni, the house is tied to trauma, hinted at by the interlude about the woman in a “pressure cooker” home with an abusive husband. Madam Oni’s plea—”Can you fix it?“—suggests she views the house as a manifestation of unresolved pain. The question thus bridges Arit’s technical challenges and Madam Oni’s emotional ones, framing the house as both a physical and psychological space.3. How does the author use sensory details to create atmosphere in the house, and what effect does this have on the reader’s understanding of the setting?
Answer:
The author employs rich sensory imagery to evoke the house’s unsettling ambiance. Tactile details dominate: Arit feels “moist” walls, “tickling” stucco textures, and “balmy” breezes that mimic breath. Visual contrasts—like light “hesitating” before flooding in—create tension, while the “trapped, waiting” coolness and absence of air conditioning suggest stagnation. The “gray, vaporous” carpet and “cloudy windows” further imply obscurity. These details immerse the reader in Arit’s disorientation, making the house feel alive and resistant to her efforts. The atmosphere underscores themes of hidden history and unease, priming the reader to interpret the house as a character with its own secrets, much like Madam Oni.4. Compare Arit’s professional approach to the house with Madam Oni’s emotional response. What conflict does this contrast foreshadow?
Answer:
Arit approaches the house methodically: measuring, diagramming, and analyzing materials as “objective expressions of history.” She prioritizes accuracy and defers to her supervisors, adhering to her role as a novice. Madam Oni, however, reacts emotionally, demanding if Arit can “fix” the house with palpable desperation. This contrast foreshadows a conflict between technical problem-solving and personal healing. Arit views the house as a design challenge, while Madam Oni seems to seek redemption or release from its oppressive legacy. The tension escalates when Arit admits confusion and Madam Oni dismisses her—a clash between architectural detachment and the homeowner’s intimate stakes. This dynamic suggests future struggles in balancing practical renovations with the house’s symbolic weight.5. How might the interlude about the woman in the “pressure cooker” home relate to Madam Oni’s character, and what literary purpose does this vignette serve?
Answer:
The interlude about the abused woman (whose husband “dragged her body like a mop”) likely mirrors Madam Oni’s backstory, implying she endured similar suffering. The metaphor of a house as a “pressure cooker” aligns with Madam Oni’s strained relationship with her home—a place of confinement and unresolved anguish. Literarily, the vignette serves multiple purposes: it disrupts the narrative to emphasize trauma’s lingering effects, contrasts with Arit’s clinical perspective, and deepens the mystery around Madam Oni’s urgency to “fix” the house. By fragmenting the timeline, the author suggests that past pain permeates the present, much like the house’s inexplicable layout defies Arit’s attempts to rationalize it.
Quotes
1. “The house is ugly, Arit decides when the taxi drops her off in front of her new assignment: too many roofs clambering over each other like crowded teeth, and flaking walls the pink of a tongue.”
This opening description establishes the unsettling atmosphere of the house and Arit’s immediate visceral reaction to it. The vivid dental imagery (“crowded teeth,” “pink of a tongue”) creates a sense of organic unease, foreshadowing the house’s resistance to being measured or understood.
2. “What is a house? What do we want from it? What makes it beautiful? Arit’s uncle told her that only when she could answer these questions for herself and for her client should she take pencil to paper.”
These central questions frame Arit’s architectural philosophy and the chapter’s deeper exploration of domestic spaces. The quote introduces the theme that houses are more than physical structures—they embody relationships, histories, and unspoken tensions.
3. “Arit believes that buildings are among the most objective expressions of history.”
This concise statement captures Arit’s professional worldview, which is challenged throughout the chapter. The irony lies in how the house resists her attempts to objectively document it, suggesting some histories are too complex to be contained in architectural drawings.
4. “Madam Oni snaps, ‘What were you expecting? Something straightforward?’ […] ‘Can you fix it?’ Madam Oni’s voice has softened, almost beseeching. ‘Can you fix it?’”
This pivotal exchange reveals the emotional core of the chapter—Madam Oni’s desperate hope that the house’s physical flaws might be remedied, contrasting with Arit’s professional limitations. The repetition of “fix it” suggests deeper, unspoken wounds in need of repair.
5. “She senses an absence, an omission—familiar somehow. Madam Oni, too, seems exhausted, shoulders hunched, head hanging.”
This observation hints at the house’s haunting quality and the parallel between the structure’s emptiness and its owner’s weariness. The “familiar” absence suggests Arit may recognize something of herself in this hollow space.
Quotes
1. “The house is ugly, Arit decides when the taxi drops her off in front of her new assignment: too many roofs clambering over each other like crowded teeth, and flaking walls the pink of a tongue.”
This opening description establishes the unsettling atmosphere of the house and Arit’s immediate visceral reaction to it. The vivid dental imagery (“crowded teeth,” “pink of a tongue”) creates a sense of organic unease, foreshadowing the house’s resistance to being measured or understood.
2. “What is a house? What do we want from it? What makes it beautiful? Arit’s uncle told her that only when she could answer these questions for herself and for her client should she take pencil to paper.”
These central questions frame Arit’s architectural philosophy and the chapter’s deeper exploration of domestic spaces. The quote introduces the theme that houses are more than physical structures
— they embody relationships, histories, and unspoken tensions.3. “Arit believes that buildings are among the most objective expressions of history.”
This concise statement captures Arit’s professional worldview, which is challenged throughout the chapter. The irony lies in how the house resists her attempts to objectively document it, suggesting some histories are too complex to be contained in architectural drawings.
4. “Madam Oni snaps, ‘What were you expecting? Something straightforward?’ […] ‘Can you fix it?’ Madam Oni’s voice has softened, almost beseeching. ‘Can you fix it?’”
This pivotal exchange reveals the emotional core of the chapter—Madam Oni’s desperate hope that the house’s physical flaws might be remedied, contrasting with Arit’s professional limitations. The repetition of “fix it” suggests deeper, unspoken wounds in need of repair.
5. “She senses an absence, an omission—familiar somehow. Madam Oni, too, seems exhausted, shoulders hunched, head hanging.”
This observation hints at the house’s haunting quality and the parallel between the structure’s emptiness and its owner’s weariness. The “familiar” absence suggests Arit may recognize something of herself in this hollow space.
FAQs
1. How does Arit’s initial impression of the house reflect her architectural perspective, and what does this reveal about her character?
Answer:
Arit’s first impression of the house as “ugly” with “too many roofs clambering over each other like crowded teeth” and “flaking walls the pink of a tongue” demonstrates her analytical, detail-oriented approach to architecture. Her visceral descriptions reveal her tendency to assess spaces critically, focusing on form and function. This aligns with her training—she immediately notices design flaws and begins brainstorming solutions, even though she’s only tasked with measurements. Her reaction also highlights her professional ambition (she wants to prove herself) and her uncle’s influence, as she recalls his philosophical questions about what makes a house beautiful. Her perspective blends practicality with deeper contemplation about spaces and their meaning.
2. Analyze the significance of the recurring question “What is a house?” in the chapter. How does it connect to both Arit’s and Madam Oni’s experiences?
Answer:
The question “What is a house?” serves as a thematic anchor, linking Arit’s professional development with Madam Oni’s personal history. For Arit, it represents an architectural philosophy instilled by her uncle—a reminder that buildings must balance functionality, beauty, and client needs. Her struggle to map the illogical layout mirrors her unresolved answer to this question. For Madam Oni, the house is tied to trauma, hinted at by the interlude about the woman in a “pressure cooker” home with an abusive husband. Madam Oni’s plea—”Can you fix it?“—suggests she views the house as a manifestation of unresolved pain. The question thus bridges Arit’s technical challenges and Madam Oni’s emotional ones, framing the house as both a physical and psychological space.
3. How does the author use sensory details to create atmosphere in the house, and what effect does this have on the reader’s understanding of the setting?
Answer:
The author employs rich sensory imagery to evoke the house’s unsettling ambiance. Tactile details dominate: Arit feels “moist” walls, “tickling” stucco textures, and “balmy” breezes that mimic breath. Visual contrasts—like light “hesitating” before flooding in—create tension, while the “trapped, waiting” coolness and absence of air conditioning suggest stagnation. The “gray, vaporous” carpet and “cloudy windows” further imply obscurity. These details immerse the reader in Arit’s disorientation, making the house feel alive and resistant to her efforts. The atmosphere underscores themes of hidden history and unease, priming the reader to interpret the house as a character with its own secrets, much like Madam Oni.
4. Compare Arit’s professional approach to the house with Madam Oni’s emotional response. What conflict does this contrast foreshadow?
Answer:
Arit approaches the house methodically: measuring, diagramming, and analyzing materials as “objective expressions of history.” She prioritizes accuracy and defers to her supervisors, adhering to her role as a novice. Madam Oni, however, reacts emotionally, demanding if Arit can “fix” the house with palpable desperation. This contrast foreshadows a conflict between technical problem-solving and personal healing. Arit views the house as a design challenge, while Madam Oni seems to seek redemption or release from its oppressive legacy. The tension escalates when Arit admits confusion and Madam Oni dismisses her—a clash between architectural detachment and the homeowner’s intimate stakes. This dynamic suggests future struggles in balancing practical renovations with the house’s symbolic weight.
5. How might the interlude about the woman in the “pressure cooker” home relate to Madam Oni’s character, and what literary purpose does this vignette serve?
Answer:
The interlude about the abused woman (whose husband “dragged her body like a mop”) likely mirrors Madam Oni’s backstory, implying she endured similar suffering. The metaphor of a house as a “pressure cooker” aligns with Madam Oni’s strained relationship with her home—a place of confinement and unresolved anguish. Literarily, the vignette serves multiple purposes: it disrupts the narrative to emphasize trauma’s lingering effects, contrasts with Arit’s clinical perspective, and deepens the mystery around Madam Oni’s urgency to “fix” the house. By fragmenting the timeline, the author suggests that past pain permeates the present, much like the house’s inexplicable layout defies Arit’s attempts to rationalize it.
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