Rating: 
Summary: This is the best book!
Review: "Nervous Conditions" by Tsitsi Dangeremba begins with the harsh words, "I was not sorry when my brother died." These words set the tone for the emotional journey into the communal lands that surrounded Umtali, Tanzania. The story centers on the thirteen-year-old adolescent, Tambudzai, who seeks an education not only to prove to herself she could overcome the burdens of poverty, but also to show her family that hard work, self-confidence, and motivation is all one needs to succeed. Tambudzai's determination is seen early in the book when she grows maize to earn her school fees, because there was just enough family money to pay her brother's school fees. On page twenty Dangeremba shows how dedicated Tambudzai was to her field: "By the time the sun rose I was in my field, in the first day hoeing and clearing; then digging holes thirty inches apart, with a single swing of the hoe, as we had been taught in our garden periods at school; then dropping the seeds into them, two or three at a time, and covering them with one or two sweeps of my foot; then waiting for the seeds to germinate and cultivating and waiting for the weeds to grow and cultivating again."Although the conditions Tambudzai describes as she becomes a woman may enrage you, one must understand the patriarchal traditions of the African culture. This leads to the ultimate question for Tambudzai and many African women: Is oppression by my colonizers more acceptable than oppression by my own culture? This question can lead one to explore many issues, but the most important lesson is not to let success (education) form a barrier between you and where you came from. Therefore learning and adopting ways of a new culture should not cause an individual to no longer associate with their own culture. As an African American reader I liked this book because it shines a light on African culture, which is a part of my history; also being a female I was able to directly relate to Tambudzai's feelings of oppression. Another good point about the book is the use of vivid imagery. In chapter one Tambudzai discusses why her brother did not like riding the bus home at the end of term; she says, "He did not like traveling by bus because, he said, it was too slow. Moreover, the women smelt of unhealthy reproductive odours, the children were inclined to relieve their upset bowels on the floor, and the men gave off strong aromas of productive labour." On the other hand, one confusing part about the reading is the use of Shona terms, which is one of the languages spoken in Tanzania, throughout the book. This slowed my reading down because I found myself searching for context clues to define the word. It would have been much easier to have a translation in parenthesis next to the word or a glossary in the appendix defining each term.
Rating: 
Summary: A Woman of Fortitude
Review: "Nervous Conditions" by Tsitsi Dangeremba begins with the harsh words, "I was not sorry when my brother died." These words set the tone for the emotional journey into the communal lands that surrounded Umtali, Tanzania. The story centers on the thirteen-year-old adolescent, Tambudzai, who seeks an education not only to prove to herself she could overcome the burdens of poverty, but also to show her family that hard work, self-confidence, and motivation is all one needs to succeed. Tambudzai's determination is seen early in the book when she grows maize to earn her school fees, because there was just enough family money to pay her brother's school fees. On page twenty Dangeremba shows how dedicated Tambudzai was to her field: "By the time the sun rose I was in my field, in the first day hoeing and clearing; then digging holes thirty inches apart, with a single swing of the hoe, as we had been taught in our garden periods at school; then dropping the seeds into them, two or three at a time, and covering them with one or two sweeps of my foot; then waiting for the seeds to germinate and cultivating and waiting for the weeds to grow and cultivating again." Although the conditions Tambudzai describes as she becomes a woman may enrage you, one must understand the patriarchal traditions of the African culture. This leads to the ultimate question for Tambudzai and many African women: Is oppression by my colonizers more acceptable than oppression by my own culture? This question can lead one to explore many issues, but the most important lesson is not to let success (education) form a barrier between you and where you came from. Therefore learning and adopting ways of a new culture should not cause an individual to no longer associate with their own culture. As an African American reader I liked this book because it shines a light on African culture, which is a part of my history; also being a female I was able to directly relate to Tambudzai's feelings of oppression. Another good point about the book is the use of vivid imagery. In chapter one Tambudzai discusses why her brother did not like riding the bus home at the end of term; she says, "He did not like traveling by bus because, he said, it was too slow. Moreover, the women smelt of unhealthy reproductive odours, the children were inclined to relieve their upset bowels on the floor, and the men gave off strong aromas of productive labour." On the other hand, one confusing part about the reading is the use of Shona terms, which is one of the languages spoken in Tanzania, throughout the book. This slowed my reading down because I found myself searching for context clues to define the word. It would have been much easier to have a translation in parenthesis next to the word or a glossary in the appendix defining each term.
Rating:
Summary: Simply riveting
Review: "Nervous conditions" is a book about colonialism and the alienating influence it has on people who lose touch with their roots. It is a dilemma for African children who are seeking education who often find that in adopting the new culture of the colonizers, they often can no longer associate with the traditional ways of their own people. This superbly written book will touch any reader to the core. The writer clearly dissected the negative effects of colonialism and the settler-politics that caused so much strife in Zimbabwe, creating two tragedies in the persons of Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe. This very powerful and touching novel is not only revealing but also opens our minds to more questions, the most powerful of which is the problem of the "colonized mind', a diseases that is still plaguing Africa until today.
Another good recommendation is DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, THE OLD MAN AND THE MEDAL, THE USUPER AND OTHER STORIES
Rating:
Summary: Something to Think About
Review: "I was not sorry when my brother died." Who would want their brother to die or even feel that way about a sibling? Tsitsi Dangarembga starts "Nervous Conditions" that way to catch the attention of her readers, and she did a fine job in catching mine. All the characters of this novel have determination and overcome difficult obstacles. Babamukuru is the uncle in the novel who is an inspiration for his niece, Tambudzai. She admires him: "Babamukuru, I knew, was different. He hadn't cringed under the weight of his poverty. Boldly, Babamukuru had defied it." Tambudzai bases her decision to go to school on the fact that her uncle has come to be someone everyone admires and trusts. She not only proves to her family that she can get an education, but she proves to herself that she can get out of the pool of poverty and ignorance. She begins her mission to raise money for school after she convinces her father to give her a plot of land to plant her own crops. Dangarembga describes in her book the work that Tambudzai puts into her field. "By the time the sun rose I was in my field, in the first days hoeing and clearing; then digging holes thirty inches apart, with a single swing of the hoe, as we had been taught in our gardaen periods at school; then dropping the seeds into them, two or three at a time, and covering them with one or two sweeps of my foot; then waiting for the seeds to germinate and cultivating and waiting for the weeds to grow and cultivating again." Her brother, on the other hand, receives the opportunity to get an education without having to work. Unfortunately, because of health difficulties he dies, and as a result she gets the opportunity to prove to her uncle that she is capable of achieving in school as well as in life. Moving to the mission gives her the chance to learn about her uncle's family as well as learning to adapt to different environment that is beyond where she comes from. Learning that not all families are perfect, she is faced with her cousin's eating disorder and the fact that her uncle will not tolerate any of his children to rebel against him or do anything to give his family a gad name. He hits his own daughter because he does not stand for her to raise her voice. "Babamukuru, gathering himself within himself so that his whole weight was behind the blow he dealt Nyasha's face. 'Never,' he hissed. 'Never,' he repeated, striking her other cheek with the back of his hand, 'speak to me like that.'" Such conflict within a family she admired was hard for Tambudzai to deal with or understand. In reading "Nervous Conditions," I have come to understand that cultures may be different but at the same time similar. There were instances that I felt I understood what characters were feeling for a minute. Take for example when Tambudzai felt no one had confidence in her and in what she was doing for herself. Having no one believe in you can encourage you to do more for yourself. That's what having self-confidence is all about. I felt that Tambudzai demostrated that through out the book as she was faced with many obstacles she eventually overcame. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read or does not like to read. It grabs your attention in the beginning and takes you along on every adventure the characters surpass.
Rating:
Summary: no "women-only"...
Review: ...because who of us doesn't live a nervous condition? Its deep involvment with the meaningful place-and-time of the setting notwithstanding, this novel has all the powerful nuances of a Bildungsroman, facing anguishes and dilemmas (inferiority complex, origin-versus-progress, desire to break out) that are part of our life. And if women from all over the world will find their own experiences of discrimination mirrored in those lived by Tambu and the other female characters, men will meet the manifolded, powerful portrays of male chatacters who are all bound to "carry on the tradition in the normal, unanalytic male fashion"...A "free-your-mind" reading to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Honest, Clean, Poignant, Intelligent . . . A Classic!
Review: Dangarembga's novel is one that deals with so many issues . . . coming of age, colonialism, patriarchy . . . it's intelligent, honest, engrossing from start to finish. The characters are strong, the images are beautiful, the narration is flawless. A wonderful, wonderful book! Top ratings!
Rating:
Summary: Strong women overcome colonial and patriarchial oppression
Review: Dangarembga's novel tells an inspiring novel about the strength of women in post-colonial Rhodesia. The poignant narrative about Tambu and her family creates parallels between the oppressive nature of a patriarchial family structure and the colonial system of government. This novel is a must read for those interested in post-colonial literature. The novel also serves as an inspirational story for young women of all races...
Rating:
Summary: Nervous Conditions
Review: Disturbing but honest look at the struggles of identities in the face of colonialism.
Rating:
Summary: distilled essence
Review: For anyone who lived under colonial occupation or grew up in those parts of the world where the resident population has been made alien in their own country will appreciate this book. The writing is superb and the story was most touching. Tsitsi Dangarembga really gets at the essence of what colonialism and settler-politics meant in Zimbabwe. It's a personal story about a girl growing into a woman and having to confront the fact that her society and family are not the most girl-friendly. She struggles for an education but then what kind of an education is it when her worth as a human being is questioned by essentially foreign institutions. I cried so much at the end of this story. It reminded me very much of my own experience in missionary school. A very powerful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow, inconsistently written, flat characters
Review: Hmm. This novel is odd. It has moments of promise, but never really measures up to those moments, in my opinion. First, from reading about this novel on Amazon and in the materials from the McDougal-Littell literature English materials used at the high school where I taught last year, I thought Nervous Conditions was going to be an edgy, anti-patriarchy book filled with lots of conflict and rage and revelation (a sort of Rage Against the Machine meets PJ Harvey in novel form). But it is not that type of book at all. It is more like a Judy Blume book written about 1960s Rhodesia. This could work for me if Dangarembga was consistent in her narrative approach, but she is not. (And granted, I realize she wrote this novel when she was only 25 years old, so it is understandable that she was still "finding her voice.") Dangarembga flirts with moments of powerful political writing with the character of Nyasha, but never really goes anywhere with it in the book. Examples of this abound: Nyasha confronts Babamakuru, colonialism, patriarchal values several times in the book, but Dangarembga never takes us anywhere with these confrontations. And in terms of the characters themselves: I have the distinct sense that all of the characters are just "voices" in Dangarembga's head, parts of herself, and she had trouble developing them into real people on the page. I do not get a coherent picture of Babamukuru, Nyasha, Tambu, or Tambu's family from Dangarembga's descriptions. In addition, there is much confusing inconsistency with the characters' actions, thoughts, and behaviors. Babamakuru gets violently mad on one page and on the next page he is calm. Babamukuru's wife hates being oppressed by the patriarchy of colonialism and tribal ritual on one page and a few pages later she is happily making dinner for Babamukuru. And Tambu's character seems almost incredulously naive about everything that is going on in the book. The Judy Blumishness of her thoughts just bug me after a while. And finally, the plot: It's so slow and never really goes anywhere. The wandering, unclimatic ending of Nervous Conditions is perfect, because it fits with the whole way the novel was written. Definitely not one I'd want to teach.
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