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dannythestreet's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I find it interesting that we barely get to hear the main character's point of view, her thoughts or feelings. She is mostly just describing things as they are. I think it's characteristic of the way she was brought up, taught not to be a burden, to obey and do as told without complaining or thinking too hard about it. As a contrast we have Nyasha (the best character in the book) who is being endlessly abused by her father, yet she cannot keep quiet, refuses to be "good". What's happening to her at the end is heartbreaking yet unfortunately not surprising, he is a victim of this system same as all of them are.
Overall, the book offers some helpful insight into life in Zimbabwe, blackness, womanhood, poverty, education, family relationship and more
It's not my favourite book but definitely worth a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death, Racism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Self harm
fromlindenmere's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Cursing, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Child death, Death, Classism, and Colonisation
now_booking's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
It’s hard for me to rate this book because on the one hand, I really resonated with this story and the characters and as an African, it was a story told with a lot of heart and nuance and reflexivity. We get the benefit of Tambu’s older self editorially providing wisdom and reflection as she looks back at her younger self. And this is helpful in casting Tambu as a sympathetic character because with time and with age, there’s clearly been a lot of analyses of how she sees things. But despite her promising start in this story, I couldn’t help but feel that she wasn’t really the main character in her own narration.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
tina94's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief, Excrement, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Child death
emmazan's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
read for class. World Literature Written in English (fall 21)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism
lauconn's review
challenging
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Excrement and Grief
whatjaimereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga is undoubtedly a masterpiece, and I am so grateful to last year’s Booker Shortlist for bringing it to my attention.
This is a short novel, but every word is placed with intent, there’s no question that this is a modern classic which will stand up to the test of time. Nervous Conditions is a semi-autobiographical novel that chronicles an important moment in Zimbabwean history, the turn of independence, through the eyes of a teenage Tambudzai and her extended family. The discussions of gender, (post)colonialism, race, and mental illness are incisive and deeply impacting. Tambu’s character was designed to be relatable to the masses within Zimbabwe, and the realisations of the dominance of poverty, particularly through the eyes of an increasingly-educated protagonist, will be unforgettable.
Dangarembga treats each of her characters with kindness and generosity, despite the hardship with which they are faced. This is deeply reminiscent of the recent article written by Simukai Chigudu for The Guardian which I bang on about all the time; so if you read and enjoyed that, I definitely recommend moving onto this. Actually, I recommend this to everyone, there’s no way that you can go into this book without benefitting from its richness and the knowledge that it imparts. Undeniably accomplished, outstandingly realised, and a true privilege to have read.
This is a short novel, but every word is placed with intent, there’s no question that this is a modern classic which will stand up to the test of time. Nervous Conditions is a semi-autobiographical novel that chronicles an important moment in Zimbabwean history, the turn of independence, through the eyes of a teenage Tambudzai and her extended family. The discussions of gender, (post)colonialism, race, and mental illness are incisive and deeply impacting. Tambu’s character was designed to be relatable to the masses within Zimbabwe, and the realisations of the dominance of poverty, particularly through the eyes of an increasingly-educated protagonist, will be unforgettable.
Dangarembga treats each of her characters with kindness and generosity, despite the hardship with which they are faced. This is deeply reminiscent of the recent article written by Simukai Chigudu for The Guardian which I bang on about all the time; so if you read and enjoyed that, I definitely recommend moving onto this. Actually, I recommend this to everyone, there’s no way that you can go into this book without benefitting from its richness and the knowledge that it imparts. Undeniably accomplished, outstandingly realised, and a true privilege to have read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Excrement, Grief, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, and Vomit
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