This Mournable Body

While I can understand people who dislike this novel in relation to the previous books, I am not one of them. The second person narration highlights Tambu's disconnect from not just her community and country, but also from the woman she has been forced to grow into by the forces around her. A quietly disordered, evocative read and one made all the more poignant following on from Nervous Conditions and The Book of Not.

It's such a shame I didn't enjoy this book as much as I really wanted to. This book is beautifully written. Also it is definitely a strong standalone novel. While it is the third in a series, you didn't need to know anything about the plot or characters before reading it. However this book has a very floaty quality so much so that the plot seems non existent. The main protagonist Tambudzai flits between relatives homes and unsuccessful job roles trying to figure her life out. While this novel touches on some really interesting themes such as mental health, war trauma and Zimbabwean identity. I really struggled to stay immersed in the story. I absolutely loved the authors writing style. It was exquisite and lyrical and the authors wider social commentary was poignant. Unfortunately I just didn't enjoy this novel very much.

Thank you to the publisher Faber and Faber, the author Tsitsi Dangarembga and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This second-person tale of a floundering and embittered Zimbabwean woman started off well enough. While it was never a riveting or emotional read, the first several chapters kept me interested. Unfortunately, I felt like nothing about this novel moved in an upward motion. The protagonist's actions were a never-ending series of blunders resulting in tedious events. Too much of a slog. Best part: the excellent snapshot of modern day Zimbabwe.