now_booking's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It’s hard for me to rate this book because on the one hand, I really resonated with this story and the characters and as an African, it was a story told with a lot of heart and nuance and reflexivity. We get the benefit of Tambu’s older self editorially providing wisdom and reflection as she looks back at her younger self. And this is helpful in casting Tambu as a sympathetic character because with time and with age, there’s clearly been a lot of analyses of how she sees things. But despite her promising start in this story, I couldn’t help but feel that she wasn’t really the main character in her own narration.
The premise is that when Tambu loses her brother, who happens to be her nemesis, she inherits his opportunity to move in with their wealthy uncle to pursue her dream of an education and a better life for her family. But she finds that life isn’t as perfect as she believed in the household of her god-like uncle and aunt, and she finds that in the pursuit of her dreams, she may be losing her identity.
This was set up like it was going to be Tambu’s coming of age story, but it didn’t really deliver on that expectation. In the end, it was kind of a collection of incidents and events about family expectations, gender inequity and coloniality and the legacies of compromising oneself for the Western gaze in order to be successful enough to look after one’s family. Yet even though my expectation for a connected story about Tambu wasn’t met, and even though this was very “slice of life,” I think it articulated experiences that were very realistic and pertinent to a Zimbabwean and more broadly, African, experience. The character development was stellar, the scenes and reflections were on point, the scenarios and ways of thinking resonated. I could see the experiences of my own family, friends and neighbours in the grievances and hurts and expectations and hopes and responsibilities that lay in this book. I loved the complex family dynamics and the imperfect characters. If I’m removing one star, it’s because this did not feel entirely cohesive to me. I enjoyed the stories but I did feel it felt a little incomplete and “so what” at the end. It left me as a reader wondering what the author wanted to accomplish with this story which ended as abruptly as it started, kind of in the middle. The focus was very much on the themes and the characters demonstrating the themes, but there wasn’t really an overarching plot or a main story. I could enjoy the pieces of story and the slices of experience and these are themes I care about, so it worked for me. But I also felt like this wasn’t really anchored and it only worked for me because I liked older Tambu’s editorializing voice. The story wasn’t allowed to tell itself without older Tambu/the author’s voice inserting itself into my consciousness to make decisions on my feelings about the story for me. Indeed, my favourite character was the peripheral Aunty Lucia, whose boldness, wisdom, open sexuality and cunning made her engaging and powerful in a world where the women were subdued by nervous conditions. Specific to this edition, I thought it was a strange choice to include a spoiler-ridden introduction at the start of this book and I think that could spoil the book for people who are vehemently anti-spoiler.
My understanding is that this is the first book in a trilogy of books featuring Tambu which might explain why this felt so abrupt and somewhat incomplete. But I also felt like this didn’t end on a cliffhanger or with any express trigger to pick up the next book. That said, overall, I really liked the story and would like to see what older Tambu’s foreshadowing will lead to, so I plan to check out the other books in the series. I recommend.
The premise is that when Tambu loses her brother, who happens to be her nemesis, she inherits his opportunity to move in with their wealthy uncle to pursue her dream of an education and a better life for her family. But she finds that life isn’t as perfect as she believed in the household of her god-like uncle and aunt, and she finds that in the pursuit of her dreams, she may be losing her identity.
This was set up like it was going to be Tambu’s coming of age story, but it didn’t really deliver on that expectation. In the end, it was kind of a collection of incidents and events about family expectations, gender inequity and coloniality and the legacies of compromising oneself for the Western gaze in order to be successful enough to look after one’s family. Yet even though my expectation for a connected story about Tambu wasn’t met, and even though this was very “slice of life,” I think it articulated experiences that were very realistic and pertinent to a Zimbabwean and more broadly, African, experience. The character development was stellar, the scenes and reflections were on point, the scenarios and ways of thinking resonated. I could see the experiences of my own family, friends and neighbours in the grievances and hurts and expectations and hopes and responsibilities that lay in this book. I loved the complex family dynamics and the imperfect characters. If I’m removing one star, it’s because this did not feel entirely cohesive to me. I enjoyed the stories but I did feel it felt a little incomplete and “so what” at the end. It left me as a reader wondering what the author wanted to accomplish with this story which ended as abruptly as it started, kind of in the middle. The focus was very much on the themes and the characters demonstrating the themes, but there wasn’t really an overarching plot or a main story. I could enjoy the pieces of story and the slices of experience and these are themes I care about, so it worked for me. But I also felt like this wasn’t really anchored and it only worked for me because I liked older Tambu’s editorializing voice. The story wasn’t allowed to tell itself without older Tambu/the author’s voice inserting itself into my consciousness to make decisions on my feelings about the story for me. Indeed, my favourite character was the peripheral Aunty Lucia, whose boldness, wisdom, open sexuality and cunning made her engaging and powerful in a world where the women were subdued by nervous conditions. Specific to this edition, I thought it was a strange choice to include a spoiler-ridden introduction at the start of this book and I think that could spoil the book for people who are vehemently anti-spoiler.
My understanding is that this is the first book in a trilogy of books featuring Tambu which might explain why this felt so abrupt and somewhat incomplete. But I also felt like this didn’t end on a cliffhanger or with any express trigger to pick up the next book. That said, overall, I really liked the story and would like to see what older Tambu’s foreshadowing will lead to, so I plan to check out the other books in the series. I recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Abandonment, Infidelity, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Physical abuse
xh_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, and Racism
serenspace's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Child abuse, and Eating disorder
tina94's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief, Excrement, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Child death
melli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit, Violence, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Colonisation, Child abuse, Sexism, Self harm, Misogyny, Mental illness, Racism, and Pregnancy
alanaefarrell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, and Eating disorder
sarahcollinson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Colonisation, and Physical abuse
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was the last book I read for #TheReadingWomenChallenge2021. I had initially planned to read 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆 for this prompt, and then realized it was the third book in this series. A lot of reviewers said it wasn’t necessary to read the first two books to enjoy Mournable Body, but I’m glad I chose to. 𝗡𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 is the first book in the trilogy following 𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙪𝙙𝙯𝙖𝙞 (𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙪) 𝙎𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙪𝙠𝙚 from a young girl to a grown woman.
The first book focuses on Tambu as a young girl, 20 years before Zimbabwe won independence from white minority rule. At 14 Tambu is given the opportunity to attend school at a mission where her uncle is headmaster. She leaves behind her family’s homestead to pursue her education, but over the years learns that 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦.
This book is perfect. It deftly explores themes of 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 while also being a beautiful coming of age tale. Tambu also has strong and diverse female role models in her life that represent different aspects of who she wants to be. Her traditional but headstrong mother. Her educated and demure aunt. Her rebellious cousin. Her wild and independent aunt. The women in her life represent the different aspects and struggles of black, African, womanhood.
“‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯’ 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. ‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦? 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥! 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.’”
The first book focuses on Tambu as a young girl, 20 years before Zimbabwe won independence from white minority rule. At 14 Tambu is given the opportunity to attend school at a mission where her uncle is headmaster. She leaves behind her family’s homestead to pursue her education, but over the years learns that 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦.
This book is perfect. It deftly explores themes of 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 while also being a beautiful coming of age tale. Tambu also has strong and diverse female role models in her life that represent different aspects of who she wants to be. Her traditional but headstrong mother. Her educated and demure aunt. Her rebellious cousin. Her wild and independent aunt. The women in her life represent the different aspects and struggles of black, African, womanhood.
“‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯’ 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. ‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦? 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥! 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.’”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Child abuse
stuffysyd's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Xenophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Bullying
lauconn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Excrement and Grief
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