“You spend the morning writing a letter to your cousin Nyasha, who has become a filmmaker in Germany, in which you ask for advice concerning leaving Zimbabwe. You want nothing more than to break away from the implacable terror of every day you spend in your country - where you can no longer afford the odd dab of peanut butter to liven up the vegetables from Mai Manyanga’s garden or the petty comfort of perfumed soap - by going away and becoming a European.” Anxious about her prospects after leaving a stagnant job, Tambudzai finds herself living in a run-down youth hostel in downtown Harare. For reasons that include her grim financial prospects and her age, she moves to a widow’s boarding house and eventually finds work as a biology teacher. But 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 realityultimately drives her to a breaking point. In This Mournable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga returns to the protagonist of her acclaimed first novel, Nervous Conditions, to examine how the hope and potential of a young girl and a fledgling nation can sour over time and become a bitter and floundering struggle for survival. As a last resort, Tambudzai takes an ecotourism job that forces her to return to her parents’ impoverished homestead. This homecoming, in Dangarembga’s tense and psychologically charged novel, culminates in an act of betrayal, revealing just how toxic the combination of colonialism and capitalism can be.
CONTRIBUTORS: Tsitsi DangarembgaEAN: 9781431428304COUNTRY: South AfricaPAGES: WEIGHT: 500 gHEIGHT: 235 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Jacana Media (Pty) LtdDATE PUBLISHED: CITY: GENRE: FICTION / Coming of AgeWIDTH: 155 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary
“Searing and enlightening. Tsitsi Dangarembga has delivered a highly anticipated, devastating portrayal of a woman who, like her country, endures a continuous path of destruction.” – Sefi Atta, author of Everything Good Will Come
“Finally, Dangar
Tsitsi Dangarembga is the author of two previous novels, including Nervous Conditions, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. She is also a filmmaker, playwright and the director of the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa Trust. She lives in Harare, Zimbabwe.
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“You spend the morning writing a letter to your cousin Nyasha, who has become a filmmaker in Germany, in which you ask for advice concerning leaving Zimbabwe. You want nothing more than to break away from the implacable terror of every day you spend in your country - where you can no longer afford the odd dab of peanut butter to liven up the vegetables from Mai Manyanga’s garden or the petty comfort of perfumed soap - by going away and becoming a European.” Anxious about her prospects after leaving a stagnant job, Tambudzai finds herself living in a run-down youth hostel in downtown Harare. For reasons that include her grim financial prospects and her age, she moves to a widow’s boarding house and eventually finds work as a biology teacher. But 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 realityultimately drives her to a breaking point. In This Mournable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga returns to the protagonist of her acclaimed first novel, Nervous Conditions, to examine how the hope and potential of a young girl and a fledgling nation can sour over time and become a bitter and floundering struggle for survival. As a last resort, Tambudzai takes an ecotourism job that forces her to return to her parents’ impoverished homestead. This homecoming, in Dangarembga’s tense and psychologically charged novel, culminates in an act of betrayal, revealing just how toxic the combination of colonialism and capitalism can be.
CONTRIBUTORS: Tsitsi DangarembgaEAN: 9781431428304COUNTRY: South AfricaPAGES: WEIGHT: 500 gHEIGHT: 235 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Jacana Media (Pty) LtdDATE PUBLISHED: CITY: GENRE: FICTION / Coming of AgeWIDTH: 155 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary
Tsitsi Dangarembga is the author of two previous novels, including Nervous Conditions, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. She is also a filmmaker, playwright and the director of the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa Trust. She lives in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Defeated by Justice contains all the elements that an avid reader expects from an enjoyable and memorable book. Apart from the interesting and unique backdrop, the South African Police Force in 80's and 90's South Africa, the perspective of a female at this historic time in a male-dominated environment adds to the continuously building suspense and story evolvement. The writing is sharp and witty throughout and the drama of the main character development is believable, frustrating and sad at the same time. Carefully researched and craftily written, it will exhaust, yet revitalize any reader, as any successful creative roller-coaster should do! Compelling must-read, definite repeat-read!