Post 5

The ending to The Book of Not was strange to me. In Nervous conditions Dangarembga’s purpose seemed like a platform for Tambu's success through hard work and commitment. I don’t know what happened to Darengba between these two novels, or if perhaps it had always been the point to put these two novels together, butTambu’s work ethic doesn’t change, just the fruits of her labor. The injustices that she is forced to endure from start to finish leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. Certainly things were not all peaches and cream in the first novel, but damn, why does it have to be so bad for her now? Nobody wants to see that complete loss that is Tambu at the end of the book of Not, how could you? I suppose that maybe this is a more honest look at the effects of colonialism in regards to the human cost at the individual level, but if so, then what is the purpose of the first novel, that while not perfect, at least gives you hope for the future? Maybe a fairytale endings isn’t what the people of Africa need to see what they need to overcome if they are to be truly free of oppression, and I can understand that, but the differences in plot and theme from prequel to sequel leaves me at a loss to understand the overarching purpose of the novels.