The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu
Two decades after she wrote the much lauded Zimbabwean novel Nervous Conditions, author Tsitsi Dangarembga is again making waves in the world of literature with the sequel to that novel titled This Mournable Body.
Nervous Conditions, a staple in Zimbabwean literature, has over the years been celebrated as a book that touches on the condition of Zimbabwean women in a society that is still largely patriarchal and preys on women that try to break down boundaries set for them.
Earlier this year, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions got a global stamp of approval when the BBC announced that it was of the 100 works of fiction that had helped shape society.
In April, BBC polled experts around the world to nominate up to five fictional stories they felt had shaped mindsets or influenced history.
This Mournable Body follows the protagonist of that novel, Tambudzai, who finds herself having to negotiate the same old minefields as a grown up.
The book seems to have been received favourably by literature critics around the globe, who have been waxing lyrical about Dangarembga’s ability to pen a compelling follow up to a modern literature classic.
“This Mournable Body” is a harrowing novel showcasing the heartbreaking decisions one woman is forced to consider, again and again, in order to secure her own independence. After surviving war, sexual violence, and rampant racism and sexism, Dangarembga urges the reader to consider just how it is possible for Tambudzai — and larger Zimbabwe — to reach a level of full potential. The result is a powerful work from an important author,” The Gazette said about the book.
Vanity Fair also gave an equally glowing review of the book as it listed This Mournable Body among its 11 top reads of the North American summer.
“The novel explores how race, gender, class, and age are at play in Zimbabwe, and the overwhelming strength of these forces in the face of even the most optimistic and ambitious woman,” Vanity Fair said.
Madeleine Thien, author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing, wrote:
“Tsitsi Dangarembga’s work, begun thirty years ago with her masterpiece, Nervous Conditions, reaches a provocative and brilliant new height with this extraordinary novel.”
