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Without a Name

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Yvonne Vera's Without a Name contains all of the conventional aspects of any novel or story. It has a plot, a setting of time and place, and even multiple characters. The way that Vera presents these; however, is far from conventional. At its base, this is the story of a woman, Mazvita, living in Zimbabwe in the 1970's, during a time of heightened political unrest. We experience Mazvita's movement from country to city. When Mazvita leaves the country it is also her lover Nyenydzi that she leaves behind. In the city she begins a relationship with another man, Joel. After discovering she is pregnant, Mazvita knows the father is Nenydzi. She gives birth to the child, does not name it and her relationship with Joel crumbles. Vera uses this narrative to reflect the chaos that is taking place in Zimbabwe at this time. Furthermore, her unconventional style allows for Mazvita to represent the struggle that many African women have concerning their autonomy.
Without a Name has a surreal quality. The language itself is beautiful and lyrical. The events of this narrative do not move in a linear chronology; they must be pieced together by the reader as he or she moves from chapter to chapter. With the exception of the ending of one chapter resulting in the beginning of another, transitions are almost nonexistent. I do not posit this as a failure, but instead recognize the author's ability to subtly weave the plot and context of the story into the much more dominant actions or objects being described.
There is also an almost paradox that can be attributed to the interpretation of descriptions. It is as if the reader knows precisely what is going on to the minutest detail in regard to exact movement and placement of the body simultaneously yet simultaneously has no clue as to what they have just read. An example of this takes place in chapter three when Mazvita purchases an apron. The description of Mazvita tying the apron strings recurs several times in the text, but it is so specific and like so many of the other descriptions it is not accompanied by any context. The reader has to work to orient themselves within the actions that Vera describes. Conversely, Vera can belabor the writing in certain sections which can take away from the actual events of the story.
Placing Mazvita at the center of this story highlights the preoccupation with African women that this novel has. Children are described and the poverty they must grow up in. Other women are described, specifically women in the city who rely on prostitution for survival. The men in Mazvita's life are described and their influence on Mazvita. It is Mazvita's quest for autonomy that is the central theme of the story. Furthermore, research into the history of Zimbabwe allows the reader to make deeper connections. 1977 was towards the end of the Rhodesian Bush War, in which Zimbabwe sought independence and sovereignty (newworldencyclopedia.org). Mazvita is the lens through with which the reader views an actual historical event. Although it is a work of fiction, this allows Vera to tell a kind of truth that would not belong in a history book a text based solely on fact.
Mazvita herself fails twice at her attempt for independence because she attaches herself to two different men. When she becomes pregnant and gives birth she finds herself further limited. The baby itself becomes a literal living and breathing yolk on her back. Neither the country nor the city grants her the right to her own body. The feeling of being ensnared in her limitations drives Mazvita to rid herself of this yolk at the end of the story by killing her baby, an action she comes to regret. It is not as though the character had no other choice. While Mazvita's struggle signifies that of a body of African women, the specific options she encounters and the choices she makes does not encapsulate that of all African women. Which is okay, because this is ultimately a work of fiction.