Singing Away the Hunger : The Autobiography of an African Woman [Hardcover]

Mpho 'M'atsepo Nthunya (Author), K. Limakatso Kendall (Editor), Ellen Kuzwayo (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

A compelling and unique autobiography by an African woman with little formal education, less privilege, and almost no experience of books or writing. Mpho's voice is a voice almost never heard in literature or history, a voice from within the struggle of "ordinary" African women to negotiate a world which incorporates ancient pastoral ways and the congestion, brutality, and racist violence of city life. It is also the voice of a born storyteller who has a subject worthy of her gifts - a story for all the world to hear.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This implausible memoir is from a woman who experienced extreme adversity, suffering the loss of six children and her husband and then struggling to support her remaining family as a domestic worker. It is the narrative of a woman with a primary education who speaks eight languages and once had a prosperous farm. Nthunya is also a storyteller, relating how her mother was expected to marry someone her father selected for her, thereby collecting a bride-price. But her mother prayed that she would die, only to have her father and husband-to-be pass away instead. Another tale concerns the author's brother-in-law, who put a cruel spell on her and her children after her husband died because she wouldn't allow him to step in as their father, as is the custom. Eventually, three of her sons died, and she blamed her brother-in-law. A tragic, depressing look at life in South Africa; recommended for collections in African folklore.?Ann Burns, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An African woman's poignant and beautifully crafted memoir lyrically portrays the brutal poverty and reliance on ritual that shape the lives of her people, the Basotho. Though set in Lesotho and South Africa, hers is not a story of apartheid and racism per se, although both are a subtext of Nthunya's stories. Rather, it is a rare glimpse into the almost exclusively black African world and culture of the Basotho. It is the story of Nthunya's almost unimaginably hard life: a childhood without clothing, shoes, or food (she literally ate grass); the mother she vividly brings to life, a devout Roman Catholic who inspires her daughter's resilience and belief in God and transcendence; the death of her husband and murders of her children, brother, and father; work as a domestic to support her children. Among the most fascinating aspects of her narrative are the unbending rules of custom and ritual that determine everything from marriage to everyday activities. Yet this is not a dark book. It is filled with Nthunya's love of natural beauty, as well as her sense of humor, hope, and dreams. Nthunya's story might have been suffused with resentment and rage, but it is not. She does not dictate our emotions, but extracts them through the power of her voice. The single exception is Nthunya's warning about poverty and the jealousy it incites. In her stories she reveals how jealousy corrupts and destroys. She concludes with a warning and a dream for her people: ``Maybe if there is one day enough for the hunger to stop, we can stop being so jealous of one another. If the jealousy is no more, we can begin to have dreams for each other.'' A commanding and important work that will captivate readers with its unique voice, narrative power, and unforgettable scenes of life in southern Africa. (17 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1st Indiana University Press ed edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253333520
• ISBN-13: 978-0253333520
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,670,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > History > Africa > Lesotho

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing Story, April 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Singing Away the Hunger : The Autobiography of an African Woman (Paperback)

I really enjoyed Singing Away the Hunger. Most books I read are moving but they are usually fiction. The main reason this book was so interesting is because it is entirely true. The other reason being the editor is my english teacher. While reading it, you will have to stop and tell yourself, "this really happened to this person!" The stories Nthunya tells are so unbelievable, and show so many of the bad things in human nature, that you are literally shocked. It is very possible that after reading this book your problems will shrink by 99 percent. I do not know you or how your life is, but I am pretty sure that it would be hard to compare anything in our lives to what she had to go through. While you witness her trials and tribulations you are saddened; but you also see an amazing strength in this woman that is so inspiring. How she could go through all of those experiences and still be strong, kind and faithful is beyond me. The book is very simple; it takes no time at all to read, and you will be completely satisfied. As far as books go this one is a good investment. The lessons of hardship learned by Nthunya will become your own. You can not help wanting to help Nthunya and her family who are still living in Africa, and struggling to get by. Do not just check Singing Away The Hunger out, buy it, and every time you feel your life is unbearable, read about Nthunya's. She will open your eyes to what hardships really are and inspire you to find the strength to carry on.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gave Me a Lift, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Singing Away the Hunger : The Autobiography of an African Woman (Paperback)

I've never been much of a reader, but out of the few books I have read, this one has to be the most inspirational and touching to me. Singing Away the Hunger is about the real life events and struggles of an African woman who encounters many terrible and sad things: wearing a sack and eating weeds, being beaten by a teacher, the deaths of some of her children, and many other challenges. There are also some joys she shares, such as being in love. Her struggles though, are what were inspirational to me. The way she stays strong and positive through it all is very admirable, because the things that happen to her are unimaginable to me and don't happen in the U.S.A.
The form of her writing is proficient, because it gives me a sense as if she is telling her story directly to me. Besides the story being told in first person, I really experienced this when she threw in sentences such as "When we arrive at his house, we find rice with meat. We didn't know what is rice." I was able to sense her fifth grade education, and I could almost imagine her speaking to me in an accent, with her fragments and the African words she uses often such as `M'e (mother) and ntate (father). I got a sense of closeness to her as well as compassion for her. The stories she tells, and the knowledge she gives me about the different people in Lesotho and Benoni, in South Africa, and their cultural styles helped me to understand that there are different cultures in southern Africa. For instance, I learned that Lesotho is much poorer than South Africa, and that there is one language spoken in Lesotho, but twelve different languages in South Africa.
Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book is that it is very easy to read and understand. It is also fairly short, and it kept me wondering what type of event she would have to endure next. The titles of each chapter, such as "Death by Novena" or "The Child is Burning" hooked me. The titles alone drew me into each chapter.
One downfall, in my opinion, is the lack of descriptiveness. There are things and places that she talks about and includes in her stories that I would have enjoyed more if she could have taken me there with more detailed images. I would have liked to know more about the scenery where she was. For example she doesn't describe the area that surrounds her or where she lived as much as she could have. For the most part, in my opinion, that is all that I feel the book lacked.

I enjoyed this book very much because it was inspirational, touching, and at the same time educational. I couldn't have read this book at a better time, because just when I felt things were so bad in my life, I read it and realized that it could be worse, and is worse, somewhere in the world. I would recommend this book to any one interested African cultures or anyone who has had hard times, because along with all the information, this book is sure to give you an appreciation of life itself.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please read Singing Away the Hnger, May 1, 2003

By 

Jerry Rodriguez (Wharton,Tx USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singing Away the Hunger : The Autobiography of an African Woman (Paperback)

In my lifetime I have read very few books that kept my attention from beginning to end. Singing Away the hunger is one of them. This book gives the reader an authentic insight into southern African culture and the struggles that some people endure. I guess I'm just a naturally nosy person, and I love hearing people's stories.
My favorite aspect of this book is its authenticity. It is almost as if I was actually sitting down face to face with Mpho 'M' Nthunya. It was different than reading reference materials on Africa or watching documentaries on National Geographic. This is not second-hand information. This is an actual person giving you information straight from the horse's mouth. Nthunya has lived a life filled with tragic events on top of the everyday struggle that she and her people must live with. To have her actually sitting down telling her story just makes the reader feel it that much more.
Now that the style of the book had my attention, I was ready to enjoy the content. This book is extremely entertaining and informative. As Nthunya is telling her life story, she also explains alot of African customs and traditions. I learned more about Africa from this book than I had ever learned in school. Not only did I learn about the customs and traditions, I also became familiar with the overall lifestyle and how hard it is for them to survive. Most of our basic necessities would be luxuries to this woman. For Americans, the dream is basically to be financially successful and be able to afford as many luxuries as one possibly can. For Nthunya and her people, they struggle just to eat and have clothes. To put this in perspective, on page 20 Nthunya explains how they were afraid to eat rice the first time they encountered it. "We didn't know what rice is. We have never seen it before. We think it is maggots....We eat the bread only because we are afraid of the rice....Finally we say 'Oh, ke hantle,OK, we didn't know.' And we eat. We find it tastes all right, but we still feel strange to put these round white things in our mouths." In addition to the struggles of her life, the customs of her culture were also interesting to read about. I especially found the way they approach healthcare interesting. In chapter nine Nthunya and her husbandseek medical help after she has yet another miscarriage. First they visit a Chinese doctor who gives her medicine. They then decide to go to a "traditional" doctor. The "traditional" doctor explains to them that Nthunya's dead grandmother is causing these miscarriages because she is angry. The "traditional" doctor tells her, "So you must go home, Mpho, to your mother's house, and tell your mother that she must take a goat, slit its neck, and remove the gall bladder. Your mother must put the gall bladder in a baisin of water and wash you with her hands and this water from head to toes. And after that the meat of the goat can be eaten by everybody." It surprised me that this was coming from a "traditional" doctor. They visit more of these doctors for a variety of situations throughout the book. She also explains everything from how the school system works, to the different customs of marriage and pregnancy. It is very interesting.
There was one small aspect of the book that I did not like. This was that the names began to get a little confusing. I found it hard to keep up. She has several children, along with her family, plus her in-laws. Most of the names are African, and I found it hard to remember something that I was not familiar with in the first place. This did not take away from the stories; it was more of a pet peeve than a flaw. Although I did not like it, I understand that it is necessary. The thing that made it frustrating was that I was so interested that I wanted to remember the names and who these people were.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any and everybody. I would even recommend this book to people who do not like to read. You will not be reading a book. You will be sitting down listening to the life story of Mpho 'M' Nthunya. This book is also a good way to become familiar with the lifestyle and traditions of the African culture. As Americans, it is also a good way to put our life into perspective. It made me realize how many things we take for granted. It also made me realize that happiness can be found in any situation. Mpho Nthunya is an extremely strong woman who has been through a lot. I finished this book with a newfound respect for her and her people. I think you will enjoy it.