37 pages 1 hour read

Stephen Kelman

Pigeon English

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011

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May

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Summary: “May”

May opens with the carnival and everyone enjoying himself and there is an understood hiatus from the everyday stress. Harri wins binoculars at the carnival, which he implements in his detective work. Even though the Dell Farm Crew is at the carnival, they do not speak to Harri, as “there’s no business on carnival day, everybody forgets their business for one day and just has fun” (109). However, once the carnival passes, everything seems to go back to the way it was. The Dell Farm Crew vandalizes Harri’s church, The Jubilee Center, to the point that services cannot be held. This incident makes Harri think that if he was part of the Crew, he would be able to tell them about God and discourage that kind of behavior, making room for missions that are not of a destructive nature.

His next mission, however, puts him in a very uncomfortable situation. Outside of the grocery store, the Dell Farm Crew is searching for a target to knock over and rob. The man they choose happens to be Mr. Frimpong, from Harri’s church, which makes Harri sick to his stomach. He is knocked to the ground and they steal his wallet.