Read Women discussion

This thread is for a second-half-of-February Buddy Read of This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga.

Sonia and Kate plan to read and discuss it here.

Let them know if you'd like to join in. All are welcome.

Thanks for setting this up, Carol!

I read the trilogy last summer. My memory may fail me too much to say much now but I look forward to others' thoughts on this, especially as I thought it's a challenging but beautiful book.

Kate wrote: "Thanks for setting this up, Carol!"

of course! I hope you all enjoy TMB.

This Mournable Body continues the story of Tambudzai, the protagonist of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s acclaimed first novel, Nervous Conditions. After leaving a dead-end job, Tambudzai finds herself living in a run-down youth hostel in downtown Harare. At every turn, she is faced with a fresh humiliation. As a last resort, she takes an ecotourism job that takes her back to her parents’ impoverished homestead. A homecoming that culminates in an act of betrayal…
(Text taken from Booker Prize website.)

I am looking forward to starting this in the next few days.

Finished previous book, so picked this up early. What initially strikes me is the second person narrative. It really emphasises the shame Tambu is feeling in her daily life.

Am I enjoying this, probably not. Seeing a character spiral down is not soft and fluffy. But I do think it is well crafted, and I feel like we are being taken on a journey, hoping that Tambu can find some hope for herself. The history of Zimbabwe and the hope its people have ties in with that wished for by Tambu.

Sometime I think I will go back and read The Book of Not as it will fill in some storyline gaps. For now I will continue, I am not a reader that needs a linear story and I am rarely bothered by spoilers.

The story reminds me a bit of Quicksand by Nella Larsen, how and should you fit in in a country economically dominated by people of another colour where you have been seen as lesser.

I have finished part 1. I am really appreciating how effective the second person narrative is. Dangarembga has dragged us, the reader into the story. As a white Brit I see the results of colonialism, how it has effected Zimbabwe and here we see how it specifically has impacted on Tambu and her values. Tambu was brought up in a Shona homestead, but received a British education, she feels that she should be entitled to the opportunities that her education gives her, but she is not appreciated and exploited in work. Her hopes have not been achieved.

Hi Sonia, I am ready to start This Mournable Body, having finished Nervous Conditions yesterday. I really liked NC, especially Tambu as a character and the narrative voice. As of right now, I am only a few pages into TMB, but like you I noticed the second person POV immediately. I have not read a lot of books written in second person, and I think it is hard to do well-- it can be a bit contrived. However, since the writing was one of my favourite aspects of Nervous Conditions, I am hopeful that the author can pull off the second person well. As you said, if done well this can make the reader feel more involved/invested. I will let you know my thoughts once I finish Part 1.

I will probably finish over the weekend. One thing I am finding interesting in the book is the prominence of women. Men are in the story, we know they have power, but they take a back seat.

I will try to finish over the weekend as well.

I recently read all three of the books. This was my least favorite. The second person POV took getting used to.
It felt like Tambudzai (Tambu) carried a lot of resentment toward everyone including people who tried to help her. At times I wondered if she had gone over the edge.
There was one part that I was not clear as to what had happened but I will wait to ask about it until later when more readers finish the book.

Finished it. Gave it 4*. (Gave Nervous Conditions 3*, 3.5* on Storygraph.)
I found the book took a bit getting into, but once I acclimatised myself to the second person I found it very effective.
I think I must be going through my messy character phase in reading, and I found Tambu with her frustrating flaws a very believable, character.
Looking forward to discussing plot etc later.

Yea, Tambu really changes from Nervous Conditions and is truly an anti-heroine in a dark story. I have heard Dangarembga on podcasts say- if I remember right- the second-person actually helped her tell the story because first-person would have been harder as the author taking Tambu on such a disturbing path. And perhaps 3rd-person would be too much a jump from the 1st-person of the first two books.
I liked that cousin Nyasha returned in this third part as she was quite endearing in NC but was mostly absent in The Book of Not.

Jen wrote: "Yea, Tambu really changes from Nervous Conditions and is truly an anti-heroine in a dark story. I have heard Dangarembga on podcasts say- if I remember right- the second-person actually helped her ..."

I wondered what had happened to Nyasha too. She seemed like a young woman with a lot of potential. I was sad at her breakdown in NC. I was wondering if Tambu was heading for the same fate.

I think maybe it is safe to ask my question now.

Did Tambu really beat the student or was that an accusation by the girls to get rid of her?

Yes Tambu did beat the student, although she has no memory of it and ends up in a psychiatric ward.