The Famished Road

Azaro recuperates, growing stronger every day. He returns to Madame Koto’s bar, where everything seems “different” (349). She herself has grown larger, “her stomach bigger than ever” (349). When she spies Azaro watching her, she accuses him of haunting her dreams. He leaves the bar and returns home, where he finds Dad practicing his boxing moves. The landlord barges in, claiming that everyone in the compound is complaining about Dad’s training. He threatens Dad, warning him not to harm his property.

Mum and Azaro finally realize that Dad’s ambitions to be a boxer are quite serious. He trains hard and eats more, so the two of them “cut down on what [they] ate so he could build his body” (352). Azaro follows Dad outside to watch him train, startled to see “a bright yellow pair of eyes” (354) watching his father. It turns out that Dad has an eager opponent, who calls himself the Yellow Jaguar. Dad responds that he is the Black Tyger. The two embark upon a brutal fight, which Dad initially seems to be losing. When Azaro cheers him on, however, Dad regains his strength and pummels the other man. When the Yellow Jaguar falls, he disappears into the earth.