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now_booking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The premise is that when Tambu loses her brother, who happens to be her nemesis, she inherits his opportunity to move in with their wealthy uncle to pursue her dream of an education and a better life for her family. But she finds that life isn’t as perfect as she believed in the household of her god-like uncle and aunt, and she finds that in the pursuit of her dreams, she may be losing her identity.
This was set up like it was going to be Tambu’s coming of age story, but it didn’t really deliver on that expectation. In the end, it was kind of a collection of incidents and events about family expectations, gender inequity and coloniality and the legacies of compromising oneself for the Western gaze in order to be successful enough to look after one’s family. Yet even though my expectation for a connected story about Tambu wasn’t met, and even though this was very “slice of life,” I think it articulated experiences that were very realistic and pertinent to a Zimbabwean and more broadly, African, experience. The character development was stellar, the scenes and reflections were on point, the scenarios and ways of thinking resonated. I could see the experiences of my own family, friends and neighbours in the grievances and hurts and expectations and hopes and responsibilities that lay in this book. I loved the complex family dynamics and the imperfect characters. If I’m removing one star, it’s because this did not feel entirely cohesive to me. I enjoyed the stories but I did feel it felt a little incomplete and “so what” at the end. It left me as a reader wondering what the author wanted to accomplish with this story which ended as abruptly as it started, kind of in the middle. The focus was very much on the themes and the characters demonstrating the themes, but there wasn’t really an overarching plot or a main story. I could enjoy the pieces of story and the slices of experience and these are themes I care about, so it worked for me. But I also felt like this wasn’t really anchored and it only worked for me because I liked older Tambu’s editorializing voice. The story wasn’t allowed to tell itself without older Tambu/the author’s voice inserting itself into my consciousness to make decisions on my feelings about the story for me. Indeed, my favourite character was the peripheral Aunty Lucia, whose boldness, wisdom, open sexuality and cunning made her engaging and powerful in a world where the women were subdued by nervous conditions. Specific to this edition, I thought it was a strange choice to include a spoiler-ridden introduction at the start of this book and I think that could spoil the book for people who are vehemently anti-spoiler.
My understanding is that this is the first book in a trilogy of books featuring Tambu which might explain why this felt so abrupt and somewhat incomplete. But I also felt like this didn’t end on a cliffhanger or with any express trigger to pick up the next book. That said, overall, I really liked the story and would like to see what older Tambu’s foreshadowing will lead to, so I plan to check out the other books in the series. I recommend.
Graphic: Classism, Abandonment, Infidelity, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Physical abuse
xh_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, and Racism
kaetheluise_nckl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Eating disorder, and Pregnancy
tina94's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief, Excrement, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Child death
mirireads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Child death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Minor: Infidelity and Racial slurs
lushani's review
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, and Mental illness
Minor: Excrement, Slavery, and Pregnancy
sidekicksam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Though the book was written 30 years ago, and the story takes place in the 60s, it did not read as such. I loved learning more about Rhodesian culture, and seeing how colonialism affected the colonized societies. Though not a lot happens in the story and the book is not necessarily fast-paced, I appreciated Dangarembga's ability to put the reader's mind to work.
The book made for excellent discussion material during the book club, and I loved hearing more about the various interpretations of the story. I also really appreciated this as an introduction to African literature, as this was (I believe) my first.
Would definitely recommend readers who enjoyed books like Betty or A Woman Is No Man. Though not exactly comparable, I experienced similar emotions while reading those books.
Graphic: Child death and Death
alanaefarrell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, and Eating disorder
ladymirtazapine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Vomit, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, and Colonisation
Minor: Racial slurs
translove's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Racism, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit