Nervous conditions: a novel

The first novel by a Zimbabwean writer is an important addition to the female bildungsroman. Coming of age in a traditional culture within colonized Rhodesia (c. 1970s), the protagonist must wrestle with the contradictions entailed in her "development." Only after her elder brother's death does she receive the patronage of an uncle whose European education makes him a "deity" to Tambudzai. Her determination to share in the power and privilege of his world is modified by relationships with the women in her extended family. Her mother's crushed acceptance of oppression, her aunt's limited resistance, and her cousin Nyasha's bold but psychologically costly challenges to masculine power all help Tambudzai to find her own way. Dangarembga combines complex analysis of ideological pressures with insight into the formation of adolescent personality. There are finely comic scenes, as when the family patriarchy attempts to sit in judgment on Tamsi's rebellious and pregnant aunt Lucia, and Tamsi's final stand against her uncle is subtly rendered. This novel is recommended for public and undergraduate libraries and is essential for collections in feminist and African studies. -P. Alden, St. Lawrence University

The author of this coming-of-age novel grew up in Zimbabwe and pursued medicine and psychology before turning to fiction; her clinical eye for physical and emotional detail shapes this story of a cultural identity crisis in colonial Rhodesia in the 1960s. The tale is told by Tambudzai, the spunky, bright, and courageous eldest daughter of a poor rural family. After her brother's somewhat mysterious death, she is taken to the home of her strict, British-educated uncle to attend the mission school. Tambudzai is a strong-willed young woman who struggles to understand her parents' weaknesses, her uncle's temper, and the blatant sexism she encounters. While she is excited about the opportunities education brings her, she is forced to recognize the incompatibility of Western ways and the traditional life-style of her childhood. Dangarembga covers a lot of territory here. Her characters are fascinating, and the issue of freedom is examined dispassionately and firmly. A unique and valuable book. --Donna Seaman

Tambu, an adolescent living in colonial Rhodesia of the '60s, seizes the opportunity to leave her rural community to study at the missionary school run by her wealthy, British-educated uncle. With an uncanny and often critical self-awareness, Tambu narrates this skillful first novel by a Zimbabwe native. Like many heroes of the bildungsroman, Tambu, in addition to excelling at her curriculum, slowly reaches some painful conclusions--about her family, her proscribed role as a woman, and the inherent evils of colonization. Tambu often thinks of her mother, ``who suffered from being female and poor and uneducated and black so stoically.'' Yet, she and her cousin, Nyasha, move increasingly farther away from their cultural heritage. At a funeral in her native village, Tambu admires the mourning of the women, ``shrill, sharp, shiny, needles of sound piercing cleanly and deeply to let the anguish in, not out.'' In many ways, this novel becomes Tambu's keening--a resonant, eloquent tribute to the women in her life, and to their losses. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Tambu, an adolescent living in colonial Rhodesia of the '60s, seizes the opportunity to leave her rural community to study at the missionary school run by her wealthy, British-educated uncle. With an uncanny and often critical self-awareness, Tambu narrates this skillful first novel by a Zimbabwe native. Like many heroes of the bildungsroman, Tambu, in addition to excelling at her curriculum, slowly reaches some painful conclusions--about her family, her proscribed role as a woman, and the inherent evils of colonization. Tambu often thinks of her mother, ``who suffered from being female and poor and uneducated and black so stoically.'' Yet, she and her cousin, Nyasha, move increasingly farther away from their cultural heritage. At a funeral in her native village, Tambu admires the mourning of the women, ``shrill, sharp, shiny, needles of sound piercing cleanly and deeply to let the anguish in, not out.'' In many ways, this novel becomes Tambu's keening--a resonant, eloquent tribute to the women in her life, and to their losses. (Mar.) Copyright 1989 Cahners Business Information.