not such a nervous condition

However anxious Tambudzai's "nervous condition" was in her first novel, she always retained conviction.

As her mind and body revolted against attending her parents' wedding, for instance, her reasons for this upset were still pinned to a groundwork of conceptual certitude. She still firmly believed in the concepts of sin and righteousness; it was their unclear representations which paralyzed her.
When Babamukuru beat Nyasha, Tambu seemed to believe that he otherwise exhibited some standard of good behavior. She didn’t ridicule him like Nyasha did, and she was still extremely concerned with his perception of her. So I feel like a baseline sense of conviction pervades Nervous Conditions: in almost every situation, Tambu nails down a clear mental analysis, and when she’s confused, she can still successfully analyze a given situation to find out what she approves and disapproves of.

So I thought the opening language of The Book of Not was a clear divergence from this sense of conviction. Tambu can’t achieve in school, can’t progress in her situation, and she can’t have conviction in her efforts, for the same reason that her opening language is jarring, jolting, confusing: the conceptual rug has been pulled out from under her. Her point of reference doesn’t exist anymore. To what rank is she rising, if there is such pervasive racism? And for what family can she provide, if they are fighting for themselves, transcending, in a new way, their situation? Who is the great and giving god Babamukuru, if he subjects himself to the ignominy of public beating?

There isn’t a conceptual groundwork of right and wrong anymore. So instead of clearly explaining the situation to us, and even accounting for the confusion we’re sure to experience (“nor am I apologizing for my callousness, as you may define it”) she directly shows us the unreal, horrifically bizarre situation at present. She can’t intellectually understand the situation, so she has to show it to us.

The language of Nervous Conditions really annoyed me. I felt like I was being told things, and not shown them so much. Finally, in The Book of Not, Dangarembga invites ambiguity with her speech, confusion in her explanations, and, in so doing, helps us to actually experience a visceral angst.