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A review by charliebnl
Sweet Medicine by Panashe Chigumadzi
4.0
3.9 ⭐️
“You cannot fight am evil disease with sweet medicine...”
Tsitsi is a young lady in Zimbabwe who has married well, lives a life of luxury and provides her mother a comfortable life despite the economic turmoil. She was top of her class in high school and varsity, so she’s more than a pretty face. So why would she need the help of “sweet medicine”?
Through Tsitsi’s interactions and observations, we see how every day life in Zimbabwe is touched by economic strife there. How dreams are not deferred but displaced with the act of surviving at any cost regardless of your station in life.
I found the book to be well written with characters with depth but I couldn’t root for Tsitsi; and I’m unsure if this was the author’s intention. A short book at 201 pages, it took me 2 months to finish it because I just couldn’t get into it and honestly, I don’t know why not.
The ending also seemed a bit convenient and given the opening sentence, quoted above, there was room to have left it open ended.
I’d recommend this book if you would like to read about life in Zimbabwe, like strong willed female characters or are fascinated about why Christians sometimes dabble in the occult.
“You cannot fight am evil disease with sweet medicine...”
Tsitsi is a young lady in Zimbabwe who has married well, lives a life of luxury and provides her mother a comfortable life despite the economic turmoil. She was top of her class in high school and varsity, so she’s more than a pretty face. So why would she need the help of “sweet medicine”?
Through Tsitsi’s interactions and observations, we see how every day life in Zimbabwe is touched by economic strife there. How dreams are not deferred but displaced with the act of surviving at any cost regardless of your station in life.
I found the book to be well written with characters with depth but I couldn’t root for Tsitsi; and I’m unsure if this was the author’s intention. A short book at 201 pages, it took me 2 months to finish it because I just couldn’t get into it and honestly, I don’t know why not.
The ending also seemed a bit convenient and given the opening sentence, quoted above, there was room to have left it open ended.
I’d recommend this book if you would like to read about life in Zimbabwe, like strong willed female characters or are fascinated about why Christians sometimes dabble in the occult.