Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter | J. Nozipo Maraire

Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter | J. Nozipo Maraire | Zenzele

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Zenzele: A Letter ...

	Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter J. Nozipo Maraire Delta, 1997 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Written as a letter from a Zimbabwean mother to her daughter, a student at Harvard, J. Nozipo Maraire evokes the moving story of a mother reaching out to her daughter to share the lessons life has taught her and bring the two closer than ever before. Interweaving history and memories, disappointments and dreams, Zenzele tells the tales of Zimbabwe's struggle for independence and the men and women who shaped it: Zenzele's father, an outspoken activist lawyer; her aunt, a schoolteacher by day and secret guerrilla fighter by night; and her cousin, a maid and a spy.

Rich with insight, history, and philosophy, Zenzele is a powerful and compelling story that is both revolutionary and revelatory--the story of one life that poignantly speaks of all lives.

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Wonderful.

I simply loved it - to say the least. Every word was just so delicious to read. It's one of those books you just can't put down once you start. It goes deep inside Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) and narrates the political and cultural struggles of everyday Zimbabweans. This lady makes me proud to say my own name. She's an excellent writer and I am waiting for her to publish her next work soon. This book is almost like an emblem to all expatriates, which is no wonder that it was translated to so may languages. The main plot and story line is just universal, although the setting was African. I could certainly relate to everything. It also shows that we still do not have the political, economic, and cultural independance that we thought would come naturally after "independance". Her style of writing is like a mixture or medley of all my best authors...so you can imagine why it was a good read for me. Great job indeed!

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Zenzele

A great book club book. This is one of my favorite books and I have found few women who have not loved this book. The language is poignant and full of warmth. It teaches us to maintain our roots, and the beauty in all humankind. I learn about the beauty inherent in places and people whom I can only know in stories. The stories touch your soul. Beauty is not what you own, whom you know, but what you bring to the world and who you are. How can you be a beautiful neurosurgeon and write this well. It is simply not fair !!!!

A Must Read For Young African Women

This book is definitely one of my top five favorite books. As a daughter of an African mother I could relate to many of the lessons that Shiri taught her daughter, Zenzele. However through her narrative method of telling the story, I felt as if I learned so much more. I felt comforted by her words and this is a book I will most definitely find myself referencing throughout the rest of my life. From love, relationships, education, career choices, everything that young women face is addressed in this book. I highly recommend it. I absolutely LOVED it!

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Another perspective

It's always good for an American to get another perspective on African culture, and this is a very nicely written book that does just that. Of course, it doesn't give the whole picture (no book ever could). But through its use of storytelling, you get a snapshot of a particular corner of Zimbabwe, and it's very interesting. Liked it.

Recommended, but with flaws

I enjoyed reading this book very much- it made me think about various issues differently than I had before and that alone makes it worthwhile. I would highly recommend that anyone read it. However, there are some flaws. First, this is fiction, but I think there is a real possibility that readers will take it as non-fiction, due to its presentation. And many of the stories in the book are so extreme as to be unbelievable. For example, I'm sure the cousin that goes abroad to study and comes back as a stereotypical Englishman, complete with a monocle and walks around the bush in a 3-piece wool suit and pipe. Has anyone in the past 100 years worn a monocle? And I just felt like that entire segment was so unsubtle it took away from the message. Also, one of the most interesting points in the book to me related to the "brain drain" in many poor countries, where the intelligent and ambitious leave to study/work abroad, perpetuating the cycle of poverty in their own countries. And the mother in the book strongly criticized those Africans who stay abroad, going so far as to say they have "fall[en] from cultural grace... succumbed to moral anarchy and glittering materialism." (p.69). Yet the author herself (a native Zimbabwean I believe) lives in Connecticut!!! Isn't she the very person she criticized (through her protaganist) so strongly? Anyway, I thought the message of the book and the various authentic details were great, just thought parts of it were implausible.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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