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ashleighjadereads 's review for:
This Mournable Body
by Tsitsi Dangarembga
“You recognise you have taken a certain path, arrived at a place you had not known was your journey’s destination and locked yourself in. Sorrow and shame prevent you from divulging your torment and confusion to anyone. Finally... you resolve to launch a search for your freedom.”
******
I was really looking forward to reading this author and wasn’t disappointed at all.
The setting in post-colonial Zimbabwe makes for something very different to what I’m used to and provides insight into a country I don’t know that much about except for what I’ve heard on the news, despite them being our neighbours.
The main character, Tambu, is a young woman searching for success and purpose in her life. As she embarks on this undertaking to gain economic and social standing, she finds herself making a series of choices that lead her to compromise the dignity of her family and community.
Dangarembga is skilled at interrogating the after-effects of colonialism as she writes about issues such as racial tension, civil war, white privilege and the economic recession that affects Zimbabwe still, through the narrative surrounding Tambu.
It’s interesting how she brings up the dilemma unique to a person growing up in a developing country with modern western influences. I could relate to Tambu for many reasons including this, that she finds herself torn between wanting to be a modern, successful woman and maintaining ties to her family and cultural roots. When she loses control and in a fit of rage injures one of her students, the story takes a turn as she begins to question her role and identity within the community. Thus Western individualism versus the traditional emphasis upon the value of community and the metric by which we measure achievement is an important theme and one that really stood out for me.
I feel a bit silly for not reading Nervous Conditions first, not having realised that it’s a prequel to this book, but I will definitely pick it up sometime.
******
I was really looking forward to reading this author and wasn’t disappointed at all.
The setting in post-colonial Zimbabwe makes for something very different to what I’m used to and provides insight into a country I don’t know that much about except for what I’ve heard on the news, despite them being our neighbours.
The main character, Tambu, is a young woman searching for success and purpose in her life. As she embarks on this undertaking to gain economic and social standing, she finds herself making a series of choices that lead her to compromise the dignity of her family and community.
Dangarembga is skilled at interrogating the after-effects of colonialism as she writes about issues such as racial tension, civil war, white privilege and the economic recession that affects Zimbabwe still, through the narrative surrounding Tambu.
It’s interesting how she brings up the dilemma unique to a person growing up in a developing country with modern western influences. I could relate to Tambu for many reasons including this, that she finds herself torn between wanting to be a modern, successful woman and maintaining ties to her family and cultural roots. When she loses control and in a fit of rage injures one of her students, the story takes a turn as she begins to question her role and identity within the community. Thus Western individualism versus the traditional emphasis upon the value of community and the metric by which we measure achievement is an important theme and one that really stood out for me.
I feel a bit silly for not reading Nervous Conditions first, not having realised that it’s a prequel to this book, but I will definitely pick it up sometime.