The Other Side of Truth

A rich sensory environment is a motif associated with Nigeria and home, and thus the theme examining The Centrality of Family Bonds. This is made clear in the stark contrast with London’s sterile gray concrete environment. This motif is established from the beginning of the novel. Shortly after Sade’s mother is killed, the narrator describes her home environment in Nigeria with the following images: “two flaming forest trees,” “fiery red flowers,” and “a clump of lemon grass” (13). In contrast to this, Sade’s school in London has “ginger bricks, concrete, and large plate-glass windows” (113). It also has a large fence. The Kings provide a stable home for Sade in London that the children identify as smelling like home due to the presence of African foods. These foster parents are described as being colorful, just as Nigeria is, when Auntie Gracie wears a blue dress with yellow flowers at her first meeting with the children. This motif continues throughout the novel: People and places that make the children feel at home have rich and warm colors, whereas English or unwelcoming places are described in more sterile terms.