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atringas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pagespoursandpups's review against another edition
4.0
Synopsis:
Unbury our Dead With Song is a novel about four talented Ethiopian musicians – The Diva, The Corporal, the Taliban Man and Miriam, who are competing to see who can sing the best Tizita (popularly referred to as Ethiopian blues). Taking place in an illegal boxing hall in Nairobi, Kenya, the competition is covered by a US educated Kenyan journalist, John Thandi Manfredi, who writes for a popular tabloid, The National Inquisitor. He follows the musicians back to Ethiopia in order to learn more about the Tizita and their lives. As he learns more about the Tizita and the multiple meanings of beauty, he uncovers that behind each of the musicians, there are layered lives and secrets. Ultimately, the novel is a love letter to African music, beauty and imagination.
Review:
“The Tizita – it is private, a private love or sorrow that joins the public ocean of tears. We mourn and celebrate together and privately at the same time.”
The writing in this book lyrical and masterful. (Swipe to read the synopsis) The words, the settings and the characters are so unique and different from my usual reads. I was fully transported into a world where music was the language and currency. I began listening to a Tizita mentioned in the book in order to get a feel for the music discussed- and I highly recommend doing that.
As Manfredi travels to learn more about the legend behind and meaning of The Tizita, he learns so much more than that. His quest is for specific explanations and answers, yet what he discovers is that the Tizita it is something different to each person.
“…each time, the word sounded different. The first time, it sounded like they were asking the Tizita to come; there was some longing, some welcoming a broken heart because it still knew what love was. The second time, it sounded more like the distant beckoning of something soon to be lost- a memory of a loved one, details and memories getting lost in the distance if living with the dead behind us. The third time, it was a yearning, an unresolved recognition of something.”
Manfredi interviews the musicians in their own homes and is absorbed into their world for a bit. He learns a different lesson, or truth from each one. Their life experience and outlook shape their interpretation of the song. Manfredi research also cause him to look inward. He wrestles with his own family dynamics and questions his parents choices as well as his reactions to them.
“Yes, I was marked by their choices, as we all are by the choices our parents make for themselves, but I did not have to inherit their guilt. Maybe I just did not want to look too closely at my own life and choices.”
Thank you partners @bibliolifestyle and @cassavarepublicpress for this ARC
Unbury our Dead With Song is a novel about four talented Ethiopian musicians – The Diva, The Corporal, the Taliban Man and Miriam, who are competing to see who can sing the best Tizita (popularly referred to as Ethiopian blues). Taking place in an illegal boxing hall in Nairobi, Kenya, the competition is covered by a US educated Kenyan journalist, John Thandi Manfredi, who writes for a popular tabloid, The National Inquisitor. He follows the musicians back to Ethiopia in order to learn more about the Tizita and their lives. As he learns more about the Tizita and the multiple meanings of beauty, he uncovers that behind each of the musicians, there are layered lives and secrets. Ultimately, the novel is a love letter to African music, beauty and imagination.
Review:
“The Tizita – it is private, a private love or sorrow that joins the public ocean of tears. We mourn and celebrate together and privately at the same time.”
The writing in this book lyrical and masterful. (Swipe to read the synopsis) The words, the settings and the characters are so unique and different from my usual reads. I was fully transported into a world where music was the language and currency. I began listening to a Tizita mentioned in the book in order to get a feel for the music discussed- and I highly recommend doing that.
As Manfredi travels to learn more about the legend behind and meaning of The Tizita, he learns so much more than that. His quest is for specific explanations and answers, yet what he discovers is that the Tizita it is something different to each person.
“…each time, the word sounded different. The first time, it sounded like they were asking the Tizita to come; there was some longing, some welcoming a broken heart because it still knew what love was. The second time, it sounded more like the distant beckoning of something soon to be lost- a memory of a loved one, details and memories getting lost in the distance if living with the dead behind us. The third time, it was a yearning, an unresolved recognition of something.”
Manfredi interviews the musicians in their own homes and is absorbed into their world for a bit. He learns a different lesson, or truth from each one. Their life experience and outlook shape their interpretation of the song. Manfredi research also cause him to look inward. He wrestles with his own family dynamics and questions his parents choices as well as his reactions to them.
“Yes, I was marked by their choices, as we all are by the choices our parents make for themselves, but I did not have to inherit their guilt. Maybe I just did not want to look too closely at my own life and choices.”
Thank you partners @bibliolifestyle and @cassavarepublicpress for this ARC
jendella's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a love letter to music – the Tizita, an Ethiopian artform, specifically. The way the author writes is so sensual at times it feels like I could hear the characters playing and singing in my mind. There is something of a parable about the story, the layers, the nested symbolism, it’s a story you can chew on for a while with characters that feel real.
husnaibrahim_'s review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book. It all just felt like I was listening to a Brymo song! As a West African, usually when I read books by South African or East African authors, I am only able to connect to a certain level and not just culture wise. While I do enjoy them, it always feels like how you feel when talking to a distant cousin that lives in a different state from you. You have so much in common and are able to acknowledge that but you are also completely different in many ways.
With this book however, it was very different. The music element just drew everything closer. I loved that we had the tizita competition in Ethiopia but I also loved that we were following the story through a Kenyan-American brother. He was able to pull of being culturally aware yet clueless to many of the African social cues. This wasn’t one of the best books I’d read this year but it was certainly one of my favourites.
With this book however, it was very different. The music element just drew everything closer. I loved that we had the tizita competition in Ethiopia but I also loved that we were following the story through a Kenyan-American brother. He was able to pull of being culturally aware yet clueless to many of the African social cues. This wasn’t one of the best books I’d read this year but it was certainly one of my favourites.
books_on_toast's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
benereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
charliebnl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
The general premise of this book is that we follow a Kenyan journalist who witnesses a contest in an illegal boxing club between four Ethiopian musicians who want to win the prestigious title of the best Tizita artist. So when the contest ends in a draw and a re-match set up for a month later, he follows them to Ethiopia to learn more about them and this elusive Tizita.
Reading the synopsis, I was mildly interested in this book, but I have to admit I had no idea how much it would move me. It is a well-written book, that flows with ease and I found myself unable to put it down. It also taught me some Ethiopian history and exposed me to a bit of their culture and landscape. Let’s just say that it has moved up my bucket list of places to visit (here’s hoping that the conflict in Tigray gets Global support to that end).
An interesting conversation between Manfredi, the journalist, and his father near the end of the book, had me questioning my own duplicity when it comes to participating in this Capitalistic system, whilst armchair complaining about corrupt officials or corporations.
But what moved me the most in this painfully beautiful literary work of art, was the Tizita. A Tizita in its simplest description is an Ethiopian / Eritrean folksong that has no set lyrics nor melody. What makes the Tizita beautiful is in how the musician uses their talent and skills to move your soul. It has the power to raise the dead, the power to evoke contradicting emotions such as love and hate, pain and joy, hope and despair; and it can even evoke a memory so primal that it could stop a war.
My review of this book, honestly doesn’t do justice to this book and you’d need to a) read this book to understand why it is one of my top reads of 2022 and b) most likely experience a Tizita being performed live.
An easy read, with lots to learn and the added bonus of moving your soul.
nobookendinsight's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. Some of the scenes described and content included is not to my taste, but that is personal preference and has nothing to do with the quality of the work. This book is very well written with rich emotive descriptions of the Tizita, a type of Ethiopian music. The music is the main character, with the storyteller describing his journey into it, around it, within it. His journey encompasses the lives of 4 master musicians, with the book peeling back the layers of their lives as the Tizita is fully revealed.
bukolayemi's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
Unbury Our Dead With Song
By Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ
A tabloid journalist experiences a performance of a Tizita - Ethiopian blues. What started out as a competition turned into a performance.
How do you judge a Tizita? Have you found a way of weighting a soul?
He is captivated by the performance of the four musicians and sets about discovering more about each of them and their music.
This is a story about discovering what is hidden in these characters, unburying their dead parts and music plays a major role in this.
As the journalist investigates his subjects, he finds out more about himself.
I really like the writing stlye of this book and picked a couple of quotes to share with you.
“Now, tell me, are you the spark that lights a fire, or the spark that the fire throws out to die?”
“By the way, you were wrong about me. I am always me, even when I am many.”