Nyasha and Tambu

Nervous Conditions is a book that has truly opened my mind in ways I never thought it would.  I really did now know what to think of this book before we started reading it, I had obviously never heard of it or Tsitsi Dangaremba before.  But, this has turned out to be one of my favorite books I have read in quite a while.  For me, the characters are what make this book as profound as it is.  Dangaremba does a fantastic job of unraveling her "autobiography" in the most interesting of fashions, by truly telling about her life through two characters rather than the traditional way of doing so with just one.  I find her technique fascinating, and for me, it simply makes reading her book a lot more interesting.  The idea that she is telling about herself through two characters is such a new way to go about teaching the reader a lot of new lessons!  In this instance it works very well for me.

Because Nichole and I did our presentation on education in Africa I found the conundrum of education in Africa to be puzzling to say the least.  I am certainly glad that I do not have to deal with some of the things that they do on a daily basis just to go to school and make a better life for themselves.  After the little research that we did for our presentation, it made me realize just how lucky we are in America that we don't really have to worry about being about to go to school in most parts of our country.  Obviously this does not go for every single American, but it is safe to say that for the vast majority of people in our country, education is a given at least up to the high school level.  In Africa though it is a struggle for children to even go to school at all, let alone graduate from high school.  This problem with education in Africa is quite heartbreaking to me.  Education is something that is very important to me, and to every person in my family.  It is seen by us as a way to make something of yourself.  Just as it is seen by Babamukuru, Nysasha and Tambu.

The brilliant duo of Nyasha and Tambu are, in my eyes, the most important characters in this story.  Although we can take a lot of other things from some of the other women in this book, these two characters are the most important of all.  Both of these girls give unique perspectives on how they see things that really help me understand what it was like to be in their shoes more than I think I would have had I read a "normal" interpretation of this.  Because Tambu gives us Nyasha's perspective in much more detail than she should seemingly be able to, we learn a lot more about the intricacies of this family. I think the interactions between both of these girls and Babamukuru are fascinating.  Tambu, for the most part, will hardly look at him, while Babamukur's daughter, Nyasha, is consistently defiant.  By showing the reader both of these sides of these girls Dangaremba attempts to let the reader understand a little bit more about colonization, and what it really means.  I can say with certainty; I had no idea what colonization really meant until I read this book.  A lot of the other stories spelled it out in a very understandable fashion, but Nervous Conditions truly makes me gain a greater understanding of the effects of colonization.