Monday 1 March 2010
Book Review by Sarudzayi Barnes. Amelia's Inheritance by Sarudzai Mubvakure.
Book Review by Masimba Musodza. Amelia's Inheritance by Sarudzai Mubvakure
Reviewed by Masimba Musodza
Zimbabweans are picky readers and even pickier book-buyers. Who can blame us, considering that a considerable portion of the literature that has been churned out over the last two decades has been about the Chimurenga or the more recent political conflict? In a country where professionals earn $100 a month, who really wants to spend $10 on a book about how bad Rhodesia was or how repressive the present regime is? We know all that already.
How refreshing then to come across Sarudzai Mubvakure’s second and latest literary offering, Amelia’s Inheritance! Mostly in Ian Smith’s Rhodesia, this is the story of Amelia Gruber, the daughter of a German immigrant man and a mixed-race woman of unknown parentage, who had been raised as an orphan. As a child, her peers mark her as an outcast, and perhaps this pushes her from the psychological and social fortress the White settlers built around themselves and allows her a glimpse of the rest of the world. Her father loses his wealth and dies a broken man, leaving the family to cope as best as they can as one of Rhodesia’s best kept secrets; the Poor Whites. Amelia’s mother loses her mind, and her younger sister elopes leaving Amelia to hold on to precious little else. Sisi, their maid, stays with her.
Speaking of secrets, boy are there plenty! The people she meets along the way seem to know a lot more about her past than they should, and it seems less and less a coincidence that they have come in to her life. Amelia is also learning about the wider world, she is crossing the racial and social barriers of Rhodesia. She makes friends with a Black activist. Through their relationship, we are reminded of a fact that doesn’t seem to get mentioned by other writers; that the dispossession of indigenous Black people’s lands by White Settlers did not end with the Pioneer Column but continued well in to the last days of that ignoble racist political system. Like I noted, Mubvakure doesn’t take up too much prose telling us what we know already. In a suspense-filled, pacy narrative, Amelia becomes part of the process to break down those barriers and the secrets of her past become unlocked in a stunning conclusion.
Mubvakure has marked her own territory on the Zimbabwean literary landscape. Amelia’s Inheritance reminds me of Dickens’ Great Expectations, Oliver Twist etc in that she has a hero whose circumstances are set to change as the mystery of their past unfolds. However, despite her many shortcomings, the most glaring being her poverty and the breakdown of her family, Amelia is hardly a passive subject to the whims of fate. And there may be a bit of Catherine Cookson in the style, too. But Mubvakure’s style is original and establishes her as one of the most exciting new authors on the scene.
Sunday 28 February 2010
The Fading Sun by David Mungoshi
Publisher: Lion Press Ltd (15 Nov 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0956242235
ISBN-13: 978-0956242235
As the sun rises in the east a woman gives birth to a baby girl in a mud hut in the heart of Rhodesia. The girls name is Mary and she is an only child.
Mary grows up fascinated by her mother’s beauty and envious of Mudhara (Old Man) Bodzo’s devotion for her. Mudhara Bodzo is her father and she hopes to one day have a husband to love her just the way she saw Mudhara Bodzo hanging on every one of her mother’s words.
With the passage of time, the young Mary grows into a young woman. She completes her higher level education and looks forward to climbing the ladder of success in the arena of teaching.
Like her mother, Mary has blossomed into a beautiful woman and it is not long before she catches the eye of Biochemistry graduate Cyril Maya. Mary is captivated by Cyril who finds it almost too easy to woo Mary. He serenades her with flowers, chocolates and American songs that he learnt whilst studying abroad. Then later, with his long muscular legs and possibly annoying American accent, Cyril proposes to Mary with the following words: “I am handsome, eligible and single and you’ve been marking time in this back and beyond. My guess is you’re ready for the picking.” The events following this infuriating little speech are astounding – Mary follows Cyril to the rural areas to meet his family!
On their trip to meet Cyril’s people, it is evident that Mary is besotted with him. To support her devotion, she finds that Cyril’s family are all together lovely. They are very proud of Cyril’s achievements in life and very impressed with the girl that he has brought home. Cyril’s father, the patriarch, warmly welcomes Mary to the family. He does this with glamour and panache by revealing a family secret that had been kept from the whole family for several years. The patriarch says that the revelation of the secret was done in honour of Cyril’s future bride. After the dreamy weekend in the Rhodesian countryside with Cyril’s wonderful family Mary is certain that she has found for herself exactly what mum and Mudhara Bodzo had – love.
Very quickly the relationship is sealed and Mary becomes Mrs Maya. Her hopes lie in a future with her handsome, successful husband. However, just as quickly as the nuptials are sealed, Mary becomes the new, official ‘Maya baby making machine’. The once, attentive, concerned Cyril turns into a stranger. Mary feels like a prisoner in her own skin. Her husband no longer cares for her. He loves the children no doubt, but Mary is no longer a novelty. She is invisible and her heart is broken. Due to the distance between them she can no longer call him Cyril. To her he becomes Moth – akin to an insect that bores holes in your clothes.
The Fading Sun is David Mungoshi’s NAMA award winning novel about Mary Maya’s agonising desire to be loved again by the man of her dreams. Together, Mary and Moth survive the Rhodesia/Zimbabwe civil war; however, their relationship is further seared by family tragedies. The agonising tragedies cause Moth to further withdraw and Mary is left drowning.
In the new Zimbabwe Mary and Moth are surrounded by all the luxuries that success can buy but Moth finds a new wife. His new wife is golf and a glass of whiskey mixed with water. He can no longer attend to Mary’s needs. He can no longer provide the affection she needs even when she finds out that she has a deadly disease - breast cancer.
Mungoshi writes with beautiful flowing language that allows you to feel and visualise every setting. He has the art of intensely wicked humour. His characters are fully formed. There are those you will love and those you will hate. The vivid images of the events in the Rhodesia/Zimbabwe civil war definitely leave an impression.
The story opens with Mary in her later years reflecting on the life that she has had with Moth and wondering how and why things went wrong. Mungoshi expertly tells the story in a series of flash backs. As the sun in Mary Maya’s life begins to fade, the hope of the reader lies in Moth becoming the man that he ought to have been.
The Fading Sun, which won a NAMA award in the outstanding fiction category, is a must read filled with humour, emotion and passionate beauty.
Other books by David Mungoshi:
• Broken Dream and Other Stories
• Stains on the Wall
Friday 22 January 2010
Where are all those promised reviews?
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Legend Press (27 Sep 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1906558043
ISBN-13: 978-1906558048
Paperback: 236 pages
Publisher: Lion Press Ltd (15 Nov 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0956242235
ISBN-13: 978-0956242235
Well I suppose you must be wondering, where are all those reviews she promised? Well the truth is that they are on the way but they are seriously delayed. They are all piled on my desk waiting for me to attend to them. To be honest i have not done much of reading novels. I have just finished my second book called Amelia's Inheritance and i plan to get started on completing my third one in the next week. I will be finished writing it by the end of this year(it's another masterpiece i'm working on so watch this space!). In addition i do a lot of reading the bible and other Christian material and so my other book reviews seem to have taken the back seat. However, i have been pondering over my reviews for The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Many Rivers by Chris Mlalazi. The Alchemist is interlaced with mysticism and biblical themes such that i am finding it quite complex and yet incredibly interesting. The characters of Many Rivers live a life that is in many ways shocking and alien to me however, a lesson that life for some is not always a bed of roses. Also in the back of my mind are Uncle Blen Blen's childrens stories that i am very eager to read. Harare North, Petinah Gappa and Carribean Tales also come to mind. However, even though i have a large pile i have been tempted to pile on more. David Mungoshi's new novel The Fading Sun tackles the difficult subject of women and breast cancer. Definitely something to look forward to. Then there is the novel I discovered on Amazon by a lady called Sarah Ladipo Manyika. Her novel is called In Dependence. This is a boy meets girl novel. Judging from the reviews it is certainly going to be something that i look forward to reading. Anyway, Happy New Year and yes the reviews are coming slowly but surely.
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