This tragedy revolves around the love between a black Brazilian
writer (Camilo) and a white American student (Mimi). Somewhere in
between is Beth, Mimi’s friend, who apparently does not like the
relationship and in a bid to influence Mimi plants an angry article very
hostile to whites and contemptuous of black/white sexual relationships,
for Mimi to read. The article was actually written by Obi, Camilo’s
closest friend and the narrator, but Beth apparently hoped Mimi would
assume it had been written by Camilo and take offense, as she had been
doing some typing work for Camilo. This of course happens and the
article nearly drives Mimi mad after she reads it.
She
and Camilo were to be married in about nine days, but reading the
article made her think that Camilo didn’t really love her, that deep
down he was angry at her whiteness as manifested in the article. She
decides to test him and asks him for sex the first time ever, endures
the ordeal in revulsion, then goes straight to the police to report a
rape. Camilo is arrested and due to a guilty conscience for his wife
that died in prison from having stolen to keep them from starving to
death in London years before, he pleads guilty, is jailed for life, and
apparently commits suicide in jail. The story didn’t actually unfold
openly like this. The arrest of Camilo was a great mystery to Obi and it
took him to the end of the book to find out what actually happened.
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