epic foil

I think the book ends with a hopeless tone in order to demonstrate just what Tambu has lost in the course of her life so far. In this case, the loss is in the extreme, because she's alienated from the one thing she ever had - her self.

Tambu pretty much relied on the "grid" for her life thus far. She had personal drive to succeed, of course, but she launched her person into the world on pre-planned tracks. Ever since rejecting her mom and dad's way of life, she accepted Babamukuru's. Her obeisance to his authority - from day one - stultified her self. She never possessed or exercised true freedom, like, say, Lucia. Lucia is the fundamental foil to Tambu.

Lucia leapt from gridline to gridline of society's structures with dexterity and courage. Moving from institution to institution (family to city to family to mission), Lucia demonstrated the ability to act in accordance with her personal autonomy and aspiration, and not get bogged down in the extraneous aspects of a given institution (family patriarchy, sexual "decency", [classist?] "shame" for being a cook). Her sensitivity to her person, and her persons' needs and desires (she was never ashamed to be with Takesure), curbed her from accepting false promises (for instance, get good grades and you get a good job, Tambu). Perhaps this was selfish of her.

But that's the point: Tambu has refused to be selfish, even in a good way. She firmly and exclusively places herself on the line of Babamukuru's plotting, and therefore, with European culture and hierarchy. Everyone in class hated how she never stood up for herself, and this is seriously unfair. She's in a tough spot, as she constantly reminds us. But it is a tough spot not just because of her circumstance, but because of her negating her own personal experience and validity. (Body/mind disconnect, anyone)

Real Life

I do agree with the majority of the class. The ending of “The Book of Not” is disappointing. We are introduced to this feisty young woman in “Nervous Conditions” who refuses to accept that there are certain positions in life that you can’t rise above. We see this naivety that endears us to Tambu and causes us to hope with her and root for her despite the odds stacked against her. We see her physically stand up for herself against her brother when she figures out he is stealing her mealies. Then as Tambu begins to mature and become more immersed in the “real world” we see this fire that she possesses slowly begin to die out. There are a few times when we almost see the same spark (when she received the best O-level grades and she was certain she would receive the award and this goes on for the better portion of the term) but in the end, she is beaten down and broken by her family and the British education system. But real life doesn't happen the way we want it to. I believe that Dangarembga wrote the end of the book this way because this mirrors real life. In real life, there are (as mentioned numerous times in class this past week) glass ceilings and there isn’t always a “happy ending”.

The conversation with Mai is interesting. The story is told from Tambu’s point of view, who we have been rooting for her Nervous Condition. And from that same time (since nervous conditions), we have seen Mai almost as another obstacle that is blocking Tambu’s way. It’s so easy for us focus on how out of line Mai is, especially once we hear her demanding for what she feels is justified to her after he found out that she was the one who reported Babamukuru to the Elder Siblings. But then again, with Zimbabwea being in this liminal, transition state (especially during the war time), family loyalties and communities fall apart.

Is it really the end?

I've tried to articulate a more detailed emotion, but when I finished the book, I simply felt so sad.

In my opinion, Dangarembga ended this part of Tambu's journey appropriately, to correct us "lest we thought we lived in a miracle society." (courtesy of Snehal) She highlights the injustices that affect Tambu so that we may further understand the ones that come into our lives. We limit our own society's progress, and sometimes, there really isn't an answer. Politicians can promise resolve for everything under the sun, but in the end, these issues of race, gender, domestic responsibility, warfare, and education persist. This new Zimbabwe seems to be full of promises, but Tambu's journey seems to illustrate that ideas are nice, but they never last long. "I had forgotten all the promises made to myself and providence while I was young concerning carrying forward with me the good and human, the unhu of my life" (246).

This is kind of a free association, but when I think about this New Zimbabwe and how Tambu must feel, I think of a section of Sao Paulo in Brazil (picture above), where the line between the rich and poor is blurry and practically invisible. Earnest, hard-working people work years of their lives collecting trash on bicycles -- some people say, "Why not try to get a different job?" Tambu's experience is why they don't try to get a different job. Regardless of class level and education, to quote Nyasha - life happens. Even if you are doing the right thing and trying to keep your values in check, the world will sometimes run you over...

Also, how interesting that Tambu's final occupation involves writing. The skill of writing isn't always taken seriously, yet excelling at it can be difficult. Writing is supposedly the one discipline that 'doesn't have a right answer' and is a vehicle for 'self-expression and creativity," but 'writing the book that hasn't been written' is next to impossible. If I sat down to write a book tonight, even if I thought I had the most original awesome idea, chances are, somebody would have already done it. Or if I write it, someone might take my idea. I can see where the hopelessness would set in -- she sought after an education, a chance to be an individual, only to realize that in the end, what you learn and what you teach can never be exclusively yours.

The Book of....NOT

I trust what Snehal has to say, I thought the ending was rather disappointing. But its expected because in a way, what is Tambu really building herself up for? It seems towards the end that she no longer has a strong vision of what she can be. At least after Dick steals her jingle. She has moved passively through the last part of school because of her lack of direction.

Once her life became distinctly urban, it reminded me of the city scenes from "The Gods Must Be Crazy"

During class today (outside, which was lovely) we talked about the phone call with Mai. Most people voiced that Mai was being ridiculous, and aggressive. What does Tambu owe her family now that she is a college graduate? What does she owe to them if they can't really provide to her? To get anywhere in this world she needs money and a steady job, but her family needs an educated person and extra arms to help out on the homestead. Tambu, is the one trying to hide and push away her family from her life as this new, modern cosmopolitan Zimbabwean

Few and Far Between

As I reached the end of this novel the glaring question of colonization comes full circle. Tambu’s story is one of confused and isolated identity as she finds herself few are far between two worlds once gripped in tepid cohesion, now being sundered at the very seems. The arrival of a new Zimbabwe does not bode well for miss Sigauke. She spent almost the entirety of her existence striving for a successful life in a colonized world. Could all the hard work, sacrifices, and neuroses be for naught? How is it that Tambu could fail and Nyasha the epitome of lost hybrid child have some semblance of success?
I found this passage interesting; “…the institution was distinguished, clean, white-plastered building, built for an old colonial purpose…the foyer was particularly comfortable…which gave it an atmosphere of extending constantly a generous welcome” (201/202). Tambu goes on to praise the aesthetic comfort of this old colonial building that has been transformed into her hostel. I find this epitomizes in several ways her predicament and her new found situation. The building was obviously not meant to house the single, high density, populace of the new Zimbabwe. The function of the building, like much of the landscape has been transformed post liberation. But Tambu expresses a deep sense of nostalgia for this building, perhaps a throwback or homage to the existence she so identified with in her youthful aspirations.
It would have been interesting to see how Tambu would have developed if her world remained a colonized entity. But now she has to deal with the gripping reality of post colonialism, where the same set of injustices will be delivered, but now their guise and intention are invariably converted – much like the hostel in which now she stays. A hostel in which is in many ways comparative to Sacred Heart, a place she so badly wanted to attend, a place where her world would change – but like the hostel, her forced smile could not hide her inner disdain, and she would leave ignominious.

The Reality of the Situation

Shocking and disappointing as the ending of this novel might have been, as an autobiographical work, it was totally necessary. As is the case in most real-life situations, not all things ever do end perfectly or with the most anticipated outcome. The Book of Not clearly serves as representation of this and the harsh reality of what life was truly like for most Africans, and more specifically- most African women, of her time.

As most would agree, Tambu’s actions throughout most, and particularly towards the end of the novel, were rather infuriating, as she moved forward in life passively through her final days of Sacred Heart, and the entirety of her first career. All throughout the novel we hear from Tambu of the resentment she holds towards her mother and her fear and strong desire to not turn out like her. From her childhood she had always seen her mother as rather weak and lazy, getting nowhere in life due to her lack of work and effort. Amongst other factors, this particularly was what drove Tambu to work harder and harder at those things of which she did have the power to control. In the end, however, we find that she did not actually even have as much control over this as any of us had imagined. Working as hard as she did enabled to her to maintain a stable position in this world of the “New Zimbabwe,” but not nearly the type of position which it was obvious she truly deserved. It really was sad seeing all of Tambu’s hard work completely overlooked or covered up altogether, or as was the case with Dick, stolen from her and used for someone else’s benefit. All that Tambu truly achieved was never able to be ostensibly manifested or accredited to her. It would seem that she simply allowed this to happen to her, taking no action in fighting against those that had wronged her. The fact of the matter was, however, that there really was not much else she could effectively do in her situation. As difficult as that may be to accept, that was the reality of her situation, which as might be revealed in the third book, will somehow ultimately be able to work to her advantage in the end.

Futility and Reality

The conclusion of The Book of Not was a bit jarring for me, as I imagine it was for the rest of you. It seems as though the entire purpose of showcasing Tambu's hard work throughout the novel served only to further sharpen the sting of the injustice dealt to her. While no one likes to see the protagonist of the novel so utterly defeated the way Tambu was, I did appreciate the honesty of it. In most novels, you expect to see the bad guys lose, the good guys win, and everything to work out in the end. However, The Book of Not serves a different purpose, which is to show that the good guys don't always win; indeed, it throws into question the idea of who the good guys in this novel really are. There are some that are definitely worse than others (Ms. Plato comes to mind), but is anyone in this novel truly and totally good? Ntombi becomes sympathetic towards the end of the novel, but still has a violent streak, Babamukuru sacrifices possibly the most out of anyone in this novel, but his reproachful method of family management was highlighted in the last book, and even Tambu herself, the hard worker who overcame amazing odds to do as well as she did, lacked the courage to right the wrongs dealt to her. I would say that one of my favorite aspects of this novel is that it is not afraid to show what can and does happens to people in real life, as opposed to having a fairytale ending.