"Nervous Conditions" by Tsitsi Dangaremgba: A Black British Book Club Review
Our book club read "Nervous Conditions" by Tsitsi Dangarembga as our spotlighted book in November! The book follows Tambudzai, a determined and relatable girl in colonised Zimbabwe. Unfortunately for her, her family isn't well-off and so they can only afford to send her brother to school. While watching the successes of her brother and her extended family shine, she is sabotaged and reminded that due to her gender she won't get ahead, Tambu grows resentful. In a shocking turn of events, Tambu's brother passes away due to mumps and this propels her education. We follow Tambu as she gains more opportunities and is empowered to forge her own destiny. As Tambu grows, so does Zimbabwe as it becomes independent! Tambu has a difficult time reconciling her success with her humble beginnings and so becomes avoidant in some ways, just like her brother. We see Tambu navigate life, colonisation, education and patriarchy throughout this book. This is the first book of a trilogy.
Nervous Conditions was published in 1988. We had the opportunity to speak with the author, Tsitsi Dangaremgba, and she told us about the difficulties she experienced on this journey. With Zimbabwe being newly independent, most publishers were white-run and didn't see the need to highlight the story of a girl growing up in colonised Zimbabwe; and the few black-owned publishers were ran by men who did not enjoy the strong feminist messaging. 30 years later, the book is still being republished and has become a staple in academia with many of our members recalling time spent studying it!
The book has strong themes of colonialism, patriarchy, sibling rivalry, mental health, respectability, ambition and the coming of age of the protagonist and country. It is written with very strong imagery which allowed us to easily envision the homestead and other surrounding described. The book encourages readers to reflect on their own relationship with colonialism, biases and self-determination through Tambu and her loved one's decisions. You're left with greater insight into how colonialism impacts the individuals and the family, and how it can combine with poverty to create such callous sibling rivalry. Nervous Conditions also very poignantly highlighted how the patriarchy slows down liberation efforts by further disempowering half of the population.
The book highlights the different ways that African men contribute to patriarchal oppression against African women. There are overt misogynists that actively insult, beat and very visibly harm women; there are overt ones that withhold resources from women by virtue of them being women; there are passive ones that watch and do nothing, further validating this; and there are benevolent ones that use sweet and flattering language and dehumanisation to justify the oppression faced by women.
Tsitsi has an activist background and roots in education, and this is conveyed by her work and in her writing. It is easy for the reader to connect with her empowering messages. She specifically highlighted how she wanted the story to be hopeful and not to lean into the trauma porn that is often expected of African authors. Tsitsi also acknowledged that while the publishing landscape has changed and is more inclusive of black authors, there is still a long way to go when it comes to raises voices and spotlighting hopeful stories from The Continent.
Nervous Conditions is a great slice of history and was highly rated and reviewed by our book club members with 4.6 stars recommendation!
At Shelf Interest book club we review books and centre activities around them. We focus on books by Black authors and often give a Black British perspective, although we are open to members around the world!
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