Another excellent read. This wasn't as exciting as "Nervous Conditions" for me, but I think that's just because Nyasha is far less involved and you have less of an extreme contrast of views between main characters. I think this book is also harder to get into if you can't connect to the experience of colonization, yet at the same time I don't really understand how even a basic understanding of colonization could still remain so out of reach if you've already read "Nervous Conditions". That said, I wouldn't be shocked if this book is less popular despite being arguably of equal quality. Put shortly, while "Nervous Conditions" shows you the extreme consequences of forced assimilation, "The Book of Not" shows you how the promised rewards for assimilation often never materialize for those who seemingly voluntarily seek to assimilate. Despite being set in pre-revolutionary Zimbabwe and shifting to independent Zimbabwe, I couldn't help but see this book's relevance in the African-American experience.
Through the entire book, Dangarembga does an excellent job using language to tune readers into what's going on with Tambu and the other characters without telling it to you in an overly obvious fashion. There are also references that you can only appreciate if you have certain background knowledge: one in Chapter 8 involves Tambu talking about Nyasha reading a book that "seemed to be about agriculture" rather than "being revolutionary" and was by "someone poor like Bongo in the Congo, a starving Kenyan author" (p. 117). References like this demonstrate how cleverly Dangarembga put together the book, showing us where Tambu was psychologically and emotionally by making this very specific cultural connection. Likewise, I also thought the history given was quite interesting. Additionally, characters that too easily could be made one-dimensional like Babamukuru and the "Big Brothers" are given depth and are perceived in diverse ways by what may be assumed to be a monolithic group (Black Africans in the colony). This diversity and depth problematizes the idea that one can easily identify "sell-outs" and "authentic" members of one's group.
Again, like "Nervous Conditions", "The Book of Not" is a shockingly accurate depiction of the lived experience of colonization on the part of the colonized. I was somewhat shocked at how dead-on much of the story was to my own experience with the American higher education system and my experience with being a severe minority in the workplace. I strongly recommend this book to all, yet I do think it could be a seemingly boring and disappointing read for someone who doesn't really see the connection between colonization and the lives of the characters (which would be kind of strange seeing as the author is pretty clear that colonization is central to the story).
Also a thought: "The Book of Not" made me question the legitimacy of treating "Nervous Conditions" as primarily a coming of age novel. I was actually kind of surprised to see that people weren't picking out colonialism as the central theme and I think it's no accident that this book is less popular if that's how readers were viewing "Nervous Conditions". I also am wondering if the reception of "Nervous Conditions" had anything to do with the nature of the reviews on the book cover for "The Book of Not" (e.g. explicit statement that "It is not about repressed sexuality but about repressed identity" and explicit reference to the centrality of colonialism). This raises a question for me: is it actually evidence of modern day colonialism if the author's intent to discuss colonial violence is instead sanitized and characterized as simplistic parallel of everyone else's growing up experience?
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2023
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- Sharon MillerReviewed in Australia on April 26, 2021
Excellent read. Very thought provoking.
