This book is about conflicts: the conflict between the young and old generations, the unfairness of "female-ness" vs "male-ness", the difficulty Tambu faced comparing her family's lifestyle and the lifestyle of her uncle's family, and also the pull of Western education and the wedge it puts between the young and the old way of life. Children rebelled against the rules of the parents, parents strained to assert their authority in the home. And everything was blamed on the "Englishness". Colonialism brought change, and this is how they explained the effects of the changes.

When Tambu is taken to her uncle's home (in her brother's place), Tambu says that she judged her brother less harshly. This is the only glimpse we get that she understood how her brother came to changed as much as he did. It is like her heart softened a bit regarding him, but we never hear any more about it.

There was a lot of arguing and yelling, and so much complaining from Maiguru (Nyasha's mother) and Ma'Shingayi (Tambu's mother) which was unbearable! By the time I reached about 80% through the book, the name Babamukuru (Tambu's uncle) seemed to be written in every other sentence and sometimes multiple times in the same sentence. That was monotonous and tedious to read. Perhaps this wasn't the right time for me to read this book, but I really didn't get much substance from it.

I felt anxious most of the time. I had a hard time reading through this book. At the beginning, Tambudzai hears of her brother's death and isn't sorry or sad, as they had become estranged. What kind of feeling is this to have about your own brother? I thought she was insensitive. I felt confused, being confronted with all the dysfunctional relationships within the family.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, as It was quite unsettling for me. I understand about the theme of conflict running through the book, and though this is valid, it wasn't dealt with very well in the writing.

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Created Sep 28, 2024 at 6:44pm • Submit your own review...