“I think perhaps that the question we should ask is, ‘What does it mean to be human?’” -Roy
This quote showed to us during Mondays class really brought together what I would like to discuss with you all. To me this novel seemed to be exactly how Roy describes, ‘what does it mean to be human?’ [...]
Entries from February 2009
February 25, 2009
Roy’s Insight on Human Nature
February 25, 2009
The God of Small Things – Discussion
Discussing Roy’s Writing Style
Rei Tamori
This isn’t the type of novel I would choose for my leisurely reading. I pick books that have a progression of events and evolving characters with mysteries slowly unfolding and leading to another mystery, keeping me curious, and completely immersed in the story. “The God of Small Things” has [...]
February 24, 2009
Nervous Conditions
Cultural Identity in a Changing Society
Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions is a captivating novel that from the first sentence catches the reader’s interest. “I was not sorry when my brother died,” (Dangarembga 1) starts the novel and from there begins the story of the Tambu, a young black girl from a poor family, who is trying to [...]
February 19, 2009
How Late It Was, How Late
by Cristina Moody
Shoes too small, no laces, without his trusty lone-star belt buckle, and in jail is how the down-and-out character of Sammy Samuels starts off and sets the pace for the rest of the novel How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman. After having “peed the floor” of his jail cell Sammy [...]
February 19, 2009
Nervous Conditions, Inner Conflict, Global Scale
Jen Tooley
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga is written by the young Zimbabwean writer and director. This young and promising artist’s talent lies in her ability to make comments about human tendencies and psychological conditions that are universally felt, making her work relatable to any reader at any age, race, sex or nationality.
February 19, 2009
Nervous Conditions
On the surface Tsitsi Dangarembga’s bildungroman, Nervous Conditions, presents the compelling coming of age story of a young Zimbabwean girl, Tambu. Once the surface is scratched Tambu’s story becomes a powerful tool in comprehending the realities, effects and legacies of colonialism. Dangarembga, once a young Zimbabwean girl herself succeeds in giving an outsider a genuine insiders perspective into what has been coined colonialism. She understands that to many it may seem so distant, abstract and broad. She challenges this by providing a medium, Tambu, whom we can see and walk through her village and life with.
February 19, 2009
Nervous Conditions is a novel written by Tsitsi Dangarembga illustrating the effects of colonialism and the alienating influence it can have on those involved. Based in post-colonial Africa, the story is narrated by Tambuzdai, a young girl struggling to find her place in a patriarchal society that allows for little to no rights for women. [...]
February 18, 2009
How Late It Was, How Late
by Joey Davis
“Ye wake in a corner and stay there hoping yer body will disappear, the thoughts smothering ye; these thoughts; but ye want to remember and face up to things.” These words can only begin to explain the uncertainty and confusion expressed by Sammy Samuels in How Late It [...]
February 18, 2009
How Late It Was How late Review
In the novel How Late It Was, How Late, James Kelman takes readers through the life of Sammy, a shoplifting ex-con from Glasgow Scotland. Sammy awakes in jail cell, blind, after being brutally beaten by what he refers to as “sodjers”. Kelman, then goes on to describe the trials and [...]
February 18, 2009
How Late It Was, How Late…Maybe a little too late, Better Luck Next Time
Daanish Ali
James Kelman’s How late it Was, How late, is an award winning book about a disgruntled ex-con who can not get anything right in his pathetic life. Written in a Glaswegian working-class dialect, which could be called “gibberish”, along with no apparent structure, this novel is poised for mixed reactions. Ultimately, this work [...]
