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.  

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.


Challenges:
Reading Africa
POC Reading
African Diaspora
Women Unbound

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.

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.

This quietly engaging tale set in Morocco sheds light on the many levels of corruption in government and that even the most honest of men can fall privy to its pull. Mourad is an engineer whose job at the Ministry of Development is to grant his signed approval to contracts for new construction projects. While his co-workers accept bribes for Mourad's golden signature, he vehemently remains honest. His loveless marriage to a woman who does nothing but spew verbal venom at him on a regular basis and the desire to do more for his two children leave him feeling he has no other option. Mourad uncomfortably navigates this world involving thick, money filled envelopes that open doors to luxuries that he's still timid about indulging in and we see troubling psychological repercussions descend upon him.  This short novel is a well written fictional exploration of morality, social class, and bureaucracy.

Challenges:
Reading Africa
POC Reading

The Joys of Motherhood tells the story of Nnu Ego born in a village in colonial Nigeria to a note Ibo chief and his mistress. Her mother was not allowed to marry as her father felt she should not "stoop to any man" but could have a lover. Nnu Ego would eventually be raised solely by her father and he would raise her to be just as independent and stubborn as her mother. However, the pressure to become a mother, especially of sons, was prevalent in her tribe as it was supposed to proved a woman's worth.

A failed first marriage because she did not bear any children leads to a second with a man she does not like or respect because of his looks and his occupation. It does eventually yield many children to whom Nnu Ego selflessly devotes her life. Her selflessness is supposed to reap her the joys of motherhood.  A mother can give and give until her life ends in a most despicable way and her children may never bestow her with the things she may have given up or simply support her in old age. Once into the meat of the story, it becomes evident that joy is also supposed to come simply from the act of giving to her children. Even this is troublesome as she often had very little to give them. Often what she had to give went to her eldest son to further his education much to the frustration and anger of the second son and their father. Nnu Ego's struggle are compounded by her conflict with maintaining a traditional role which includes being a financial contributor and the modern role in this urban setting that calls for her to just focus on being a mother.

I'm an instant fan of Buchi Emecheta. Her writing is so vivid and crisp. Perhaps I'm biased being a mother and this is my first impression of her writing, but I feel she nailed it. The joys of motherhood are something that don't just necessarily manifest as tangible or, even, emotional rewards. They are just random moments and, sometimes, the good doesn't outweigh the bad. But once you're a mother you have to just surrender to it and come what may. For Nnu Ego, her joy came from the superficial outlook others had on her as a mother of seven and their individual success. Emecheta's use of chi, or personal spirit, and a number of other cultural references often relating to spirituality and death make this a very enriching read. The constant presence of death- be it that of a newborn, and old chief, or an attempted suicide- adds a profundity to this book on motherhood.

I also own and hope to read Emecheta's novel, Slave Girl, in the near future.

Challenges:
Women Unbound
Reading Africa
POC Reading
African Diaspora

Buchi Emecheta is a well-noted Nigerian born novelist whose writing often has feminist themes. Her novels include The Joys of Motherhood, Slave Girl, and Second Class Citizen.

Woman At Point Zero is a classic novella by Egyptian doctor and feminist writer, Nawal El Saadawi. She tells the story of an Egyptian prostitute, Firdaus, sitting on death row for murder. Firdaus endures a cruel childhood and sexual abuse by an uncle. She desperately wants to do something with her secondary education, but the prospects for women are few. When her uncle and his wife try to marry her off, she runs away and here begins her journey of self discovery. Firdaus' life remains mired by an abusive relationship and then, prostitution. She's your typical woman scorned one too many times and driven to the ultimate vindication. The story focuses on how she arrived at death row and why she chooses not to appeal her sentence. She views her actions as truth, "and truth is savage and dangerous."

Woman At Point Zero is well written in accessible language and sometimes gut punching truths: "That men force women to sell their bodies at a price, and the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another." Nawal El Saadawi paints a vivid picture of the marginalization of women and how the legal system can often perpetuate violence against women.

I was so glad to finally read this book. At once I felt disgusted and angry then, empowered to, like Firdaus, raise my hand to smash against the face of those who brutalize women.

Challenges:
November Novella
Women Unbound
Reading Africa

The plan is simple: read at least one book from each African country relative by author and/ or setting. This is a perpetual challenge. For a comprehensive list of the countries, click here. That is also where I'll be keeping track of this challenge. If anyone would like to join me, just leave a comment on this post and I'll add your link to my challenge page as a participant. If you'd like to do a variation of this challenge, perhaps committing to a certain number of countries, this is great also and I'll still include your link.

Happy Reading!