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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Third in the series.
*
In the first, highly acclaimed, novel Nervous Conditions (4stars) we meet Tambu and introduced to her world, her family, her homestead, patriarchy, loss, love and hope as she grows up, schooling being the principle vehicle of her story.
In the second, The Book of Not (2.5 stars) we follow her through secondary school, university and her first job as a copywriter. Her country is at war. She is further shown as second class citizen in her country. Lives are lost, broken and the weight of colonialism on the black body and mind are explored.
And now, This Mournable Body brings us into her womanhood, her mental health issues resembling her mother’s untreated state, her sense of hopelessness as she tries to find work, find herself, find her path and it is heavy.
We follow along with beautiful writing as her aches and hopes are etched into our minds as the story is carried as though we, the audience, are Tambu and see the world through her eyes through various experiments and experiences that lead her back to the homestead she left many years ago, returning with hope and meeting yet another disappointment.
Reading this caused me a lot of anxiety - constantly waiting for the bomb of what else will go wrong? And of course, something keeps going wrong and spectacularly so.
Loved the writing, didn’t love the story itself.
3 stars
Third in the series.
*
In the first, highly acclaimed, novel Nervous Conditions (4stars) we meet Tambu and introduced to her world, her family, her homestead, patriarchy, loss, love and hope as she grows up, schooling being the principle vehicle of her story.
In the second, The Book of Not (2.5 stars) we follow her through secondary school, university and her first job as a copywriter. Her country is at war. She is further shown as second class citizen in her country. Lives are lost, broken and the weight of colonialism on the black body and mind are explored.
And now, This Mournable Body brings us into her womanhood, her mental health issues resembling her mother’s untreated state, her sense of hopelessness as she tries to find work, find herself, find her path and it is heavy.
We follow along with beautiful writing as her aches and hopes are etched into our minds as the story is carried as though we, the audience, are Tambu and see the world through her eyes through various experiments and experiences that lead her back to the homestead she left many years ago, returning with hope and meeting yet another disappointment.
Reading this caused me a lot of anxiety - constantly waiting for the bomb of what else will go wrong? And of course, something keeps going wrong and spectacularly so.
Loved the writing, didn’t love the story itself.
3 stars
I hadn't read the first two books of the trilogy, which meant that I had to reconstruct and infer from the text. This has meant, I think, that I've missed some of the beauty. It is stylistically quite beautifully written - with very vivid and raw imagery. Would recommend reading it knowing that there is quite a lot of explicit violence mentioned in the book. I feel a little conflicted by the book as I didn't per se think it was an always enjoyable read, sometimes hard to get into the flow of it, but couldn't stop reading it. Intrigued to read another of Dangarembga's books, after some time has passed.
I read this without knowing this is the third installment from a trilogy. As it can be read as a standalone it also requires effort and it can be frustrating to some readers, I think readers who reads the two previous books can digest this story much more better and appreciates it more.
Having said that, the story was told from a second person of view and can be confusing at first. It took me longer to adapt to this point of view.
The story focusing on Tambu's life and her struggles to become successful despite her cultures, personal history, psychology, post war society,the racisms and corruptions of their country. There's a lot going on in this book.
I found that the name of the characters sometimes can be a bit confusing as it introduced as Freedom or Concept. Took me awhile sometimes to access that it's a character names actually. Some phrases can be quite challenging since it's not in english. Overall I love seeing how Tambu growing up, moulding into a better and better person and being successful and happy at it.
Having said that, the story was told from a second person of view and can be confusing at first. It took me longer to adapt to this point of view.
The story focusing on Tambu's life and her struggles to become successful despite her cultures, personal history, psychology, post war society,the racisms and corruptions of their country. There's a lot going on in this book.
I found that the name of the characters sometimes can be a bit confusing as it introduced as Freedom or Concept. Took me awhile sometimes to access that it's a character names actually. Some phrases can be quite challenging since it's not in english. Overall I love seeing how Tambu growing up, moulding into a better and better person and being successful and happy at it.
The second tense making it seem like she’s talking to me was just not engaging
I wasn’t aware this was part of a trilogy, I think the reading experience would have been better if I had read the other two first.
PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION:
In this tense and psychologically charged novel, Tsitsi Dangarembga channels the hope and potential of one young girl and a fledgling nation to lead us on a journey to discover where lives go after hope has departed.
Here we meet Tambudzai, living in a run-down youth hostel in downtown Harare and anxious about her prospects after leaving a stagnant job. At every turn in her attempt to make a life for herself, she is faced with a fresh humiliation, until the painful contrast between the future she imagined and her daily reality ultimately drives her to a breaking point.
NO SPOILERS
The first thing which hits you about this book is that it is written in the third person. (See what I did there?) I know some readers have found this irritating and hard to read but I found it rather fascinating and after a few sentences it becomes natural. It feels as though Dangarembga is talking to me and although it is written in the present tense, the third person shifts it into the future and it becomes somehow directive. “This is how it’s going to be”. It is a little disturbing but then we should all be disturbed by such a history. So perhaps it’s more IF you do this then this will happen. Take heed! As a way of telling a history which needs to be heard though, it’s rather brilliant.
The writing is beautiful, almost poetic at times but effortlessly so. It flows so easily when read that some of its beauty can be missed and this is a book which would deserve a second reading though not from me. Whilst Dangarembga is a skilled writer, my favourite type of writer, it took me quite a while to finish the book as I mostly wanted to leave the protagonist, Tambu/me to stew in her/my own misery.
All in all though, this is a book worth reading. I understand it is a sequel to two previous books so perhaps I would have more sympathy if I’d read them first.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the Advanced Reader Copy of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.
In this tense and psychologically charged novel, Tsitsi Dangarembga channels the hope and potential of one young girl and a fledgling nation to lead us on a journey to discover where lives go after hope has departed.
Here we meet Tambudzai, living in a run-down youth hostel in downtown Harare and anxious about her prospects after leaving a stagnant job. At every turn in her attempt to make a life for herself, she is faced with a fresh humiliation, until the painful contrast between the future she imagined and her daily reality ultimately drives her to a breaking point.
NO SPOILERS
The first thing which hits you about this book is that it is written in the third person. (See what I did there?) I know some readers have found this irritating and hard to read but I found it rather fascinating and after a few sentences it becomes natural. It feels as though Dangarembga is talking to me and although it is written in the present tense, the third person shifts it into the future and it becomes somehow directive. “This is how it’s going to be”. It is a little disturbing but then we should all be disturbed by such a history. So perhaps it’s more IF you do this then this will happen. Take heed! As a way of telling a history which needs to be heard though, it’s rather brilliant.
The writing is beautiful, almost poetic at times but effortlessly so. It flows so easily when read that some of its beauty can be missed and this is a book which would deserve a second reading though not from me. Whilst Dangarembga is a skilled writer, my favourite type of writer, it took me quite a while to finish the book as I mostly wanted to leave the protagonist, Tambu/me to stew in her/my own misery.
All in all though, this is a book worth reading. I understand it is a sequel to two previous books so perhaps I would have more sympathy if I’d read them first.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the Advanced Reader Copy of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF. Life is too short to read bad books
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Main character Tambudzai lists helplessly between unemployment and unfulfilling work, while life seems to happen around her.
The only thing worth saving in this book was the look at Zimbabwean society. The main character here is called an anti-heroine by some reviewers but to me, she was unlikeable, unreadable, and unteachable, determined to define her 'success' by these terribly capitalist, classist rules, even though it causes her emotional and mental harm. From throttling a young woman who flaunts her youth, to criticizing her cousin's hopeful attempts to make a difference in the world, to asking her mother to dance topless for her job security (it makes sense if you think about racist stereotypes of African women... yeah) all the way to her fateful conclusion. So much happens in this books but nothing important. Even being hospitalized had no effect on her behavior or selfish frame of outlook. This book was, to me, insufferably boring and had it not been for a buddy read, I would've DNF'd at the first 100 pages.
The only thing worth saving in this book was the look at Zimbabwean society. The main character here is called an anti-heroine by some reviewers but to me, she was unlikeable, unreadable, and unteachable, determined to define her 'success' by these terribly capitalist, classist rules, even though it causes her emotional and mental harm. From throttling a young woman who flaunts her youth, to criticizing her cousin's hopeful attempts to make a difference in the world, to asking her mother to dance topless for her job security (it makes sense if you think about racist stereotypes of African women... yeah) all the way to her fateful conclusion. So much happens in this books but nothing important. Even being hospitalized had no effect on her behavior or selfish frame of outlook. This book was, to me, insufferably boring and had it not been for a buddy read, I would've DNF'd at the first 100 pages.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes