Nervous Conditions explores the coming of age of Tambu, a girl growing up in 1960s Rhodesia in the midst of British colonialism. Tambu is determined to break free of the oppressive and impoverished world she lives in and knows that education is her means to an end. After some set backs, she's offered a grand opportunity from an uncle who has become ell educated and the headmaster of a school that could take Tambu farther than the little school in her village. Tambu also tries to reckon with the cousin, Nyasha, she was once close to when very young girls but has been highly affected by her British education and overtly challenges her status as a young woman in a rigid patriarchal society.


Dangarembga opens the novel diving immediately into a feminist agenda by having the main character, Tambudzai (Tambu) proclaim that while her journey stems from the death of her older brother, her “story is not after all about death, but about [her] escape...; about [her] mother's and Maiguru's entrapment; and about Nyasha's rebellion.” Nervous Conditions is a story of women succumbing to and struggling against a society that devalues women. While women worked in the fields seeding and harvesting crops for consumption alongside male family members in the domestic sphere, many of them achieved some public autonomy by tending their own small plots, often passed on from their mothers, from which they would go to bus terminals to sell to white tourists their harvests. Tambu attempts to do this on a small portion of her mother's garden in order to raise money for school fees or else she will have to discontinue her studies. Studies that her older brother and her father believes are a waste of time on her. They have a traditional, marginalized view of women that dictates that their goal is to secure a husband as her father suggests questioning and heeding: “Can you cook books and feed them to your husband? Stay at home with your mother. Learn to cook and clean. Grow vegetables.” 
 
Tambu's successful uncle returns to Rhodesia after several years in England attaining a Master's degree in hopes of helping the rest of his family rise from poverty through education. After the mysterious death of her brother who was chosen to be his family's academic savior, Tambu's uncle still wanted to make good on his mission. However, his deciding to take Tambu back to his school and to live with his family was treated more like a consolation prize than a gift. Tambu never let the negative attitudes of the men in her family deter her sober attitude towards getting an education.
 
Tambu's cousin and her uncle's daughter, Nyasha, represents the female challenging gender roles as well the traditional dynamics of parent child relationships that typically demand a high degree of respect from children for their parents. Tambu tries to reconcile her feelings for the now “Anglicised cousin” whose behavior she classifies as “embarrassing” and “disrespectful.” Yet, she sees the weight which Nyasha is rumbling under as she unsuccessfully teeters between the British manners and language she had become attached to and her traditional Rhodesian family life. As one of a number of times, the issue of menstruation and sexuality comes up when Nyasha offers Tambu a tampon because she becomes wary of the use of the more cumbersome menses rags. While this also ushers in the shift towards a more western mindset regarding odors and cleanliness for Tambu, the repeated idea of menstruation as “nastiness” and Nyasha's mother, Maiguru's belief that “tampons are offensive” and that “nice girls didn't use them” is a testament to the trivialization of female sexuality and reproduction.


Maiguru, Tambu's aunt, is the ultimate representation of the trapped woman as she keeps quiet that she has attained the same level of education as her husband. What she does do is dote on him and their daughter as expected of a wife. Much of Nyasha's angst and rebellion comes from the from the fact that her mother has been socialized to a stereotypical gender role even after she achieved a high level of education in spite of her family's chagrin. 


Tambu's journey into young womanhood and towards freedom are very much shaped by the women in her family who are at various places and stages with their statuses as women in a patriarchal society.  

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Challenges:
Reading Africa
POC Reading
African Diaspora
Women Unbound

Riverhead Books set my mailbox ablaze a few days ago with three ARCs set to be released over the next three months. It didn't occur to me until I got my package that Riverhead boasts a mean number of literary fiction by authors of color on including two of my new faves Girl In Translation by Jean Kwok and The Book of Night Women by Marlon James. 

Ama Ata Aidoo gives a glimpse into post-colonial life in Ghana. The eleven short stories are well written vignettes revealing a nation and its people in transition. Higher education abroad is highly sought after. Massive conspicuous wigs become an unfortunate symbol of a loss of confidence. The ubiquitous "big man" is a role once played by white men but now one of black Africans deemed to have status and wealth. Probably my favorite and the most telling story of the changes occurring at the time is "For Whom Things Did Not Change." Zirigu, a servant, and his wife, Setu discuss the social acceptance of young girls sleeping with "big men" because of the material possessions they can provide. Zirigu also struggles with his past as servant to white men for whom he prepared English dishes and the young black man he now serves begs for traditional Ghanaian cuisine. The character driven stories of No Sweetness Here are entertaining and informative on a country in the midst of change to a western-influenced society.

Post read-a-thon update
Thanks to the ladies who participated. I hope everyone enjoyed what they got a chance to read today. I finished two books (His Own Where by June Jordan and No Sweetness Here by Ama Ata Aidoo) and I started a third (Color Blind by Precious Williams). I have selected two winners for a book of their choice from The Book Depository valued up to $15.

Congrats Beverly and Goddesspt2!!

Welcome to the 12 hour read-a-thon and if you're joining for the first time, welcome to the challenge. The only rule is that books must geographically reflect the diaspora meaning authors should be from North America, South America, Africa, and the Caribbean. The diaspora refers to the dispersal of people of African descent as a result of the slave trade.

This mini-read-a-thon is a way for those new and established challenge participants to catch up on the amount of reads to which we've committed. I've surpassed my commitment but haven't been geographically diverse as much as I planned.

As promised, I'm giving away a prize. Actually, I'm going to be really generous and give away two. I'll select two participants to win their choice of book (valued up to $15) from The Book Depository. This makes it open worldwide. And I hope the choices are from the diaspora (*wink*). What do you have to do? Just come by here updating us on what you're reading. The more you comment, substantially that is, the more chances you have to win. When I say substantial, I mean comment thoughtfully on what you're reading or what someone else is reading. Please no frivolous random comments just to get the swag. :)

Don't forget we're also on Twitter and the hashtag is #afrodiaspora.

So, let's get into some comfortable spots and enjoy African diasporic literature today.

Shoneyin's debut novel of a modern Nigerian polygamist family is refreshing. Though some may be turned off by the idea of polygamy, it is a revelation to read of the dynamics of such a relationship. Baba Segi has four wives, Iya Segi, Iya Tope, and Iya Femi, and the newest, Bolanle. Bolanle is college educated unlike the other three wives and this brings her much jealousy and animosity. All the while the first and third wives, Iya Segi and Iya Femi, respectively, are plotting Bolanle's demise,  their own secrets are about to be exposed. Things start to unravel for the first three wives when after years of trying, Bolanle does not get pregnant. Bearing offspring is a great source of pride for Baba Segi and Bolanle's supposed barrenness is hurting it.

How the story unfolds is in chapters that reveal back story on each wife before and after she married Baba Segi. Each of these women were filled with various desires like learning to read and being educated, the affections of a young man, and even wealth. The wives are the important characters here and that's fine because a tale involving polygamy does bear more implications on the status of women.  It's pleasing that the female characters are fully realized and even the two most vindictive are shown to have some humanity. Baba Segi was probably the type of characterization you'd expect of a wealthy polygamist-- demanding and unattractive. Shoneyin has written this novel with great honesty and realism and it was a joy to read.  The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is a fabulous piece of literature from a fantastic writer poised to have a brilliant career.

disclosure: I received this book from the publisher.

So, the people have spoken and the catch up read-a-thon for the African Diaspora reading challenge will be 12 hours on Saturday, July 10th. That's three weeks from tomorrow. Get your reading lists together and come join me beginning at 7 am CST (8 am EST/ 5 am PST). Let's take that half day and relax with some great diasporic literature in hand.

There will be a designated post for the event so participants can check in and share what their reading as well as the progress on individual goals. Even though 12 hours does not allow time for challenges, I'm still giving away a prize. The deets on the prize and how winners will be chosen will be revealed the day of the read-a-thon.

Participants should also feel free to give this a twofold purpose and make a charitable donation to the organization of their choice. I'm still deciding on who I'll support.

Any questions or comments, you know where to leave 'em.

McFadden's sixth novel, Glorious, opens with the historical win of boxing legend Jack Johnson against James Jeffries on July 4, 1910. Though seen as a victory for blacks as a whole, this event set off a series of unfortunate events in the life Easter Bartlett. Family tragedy sends her literally walking away from her hometown of Waycross, Georgia. Her journey from the rural Georgia to Harlem includes a stint living with her aunt and her being eyewitness to one of the most horrific acts of violence of the time. A very bright and well read young woman, Easter finds solace in writing. A chance encounter with a childhood friend brings her to Harlem just as its black arts scene is blossoming. Easter falls right into place with the literary notables of the time and their patronage by white benefactors. An ill-fated writing contest brings Easter more misfortune but an unlikely discovery decades later brings her redemption and peace.

This novel spanning four decades was so captivating from the onset. I could not put it down. I found myself tearing through the pages and fearing I was reading it too fast. Glorious is a master's course in writing narrative. Every character is fully realized and relevant. The story moved gracefully and without trepidation as McFadden unabashedly explores the realities of the Jim Crow era South and the status of women. Bernice McFadden broke and healed my heart in 235 pages and when I closed the book, I felt changed.