Nervous Conditions- What You've All Been Waiting For

(Before I forget, Reading deets- B Layer:around an hour, Saturday
A Layer: ~1.5 hrs, Sunday
 Total-2.5hrs, maybe a little more

This book brings to light many, perhaps unpleasant, subjects, especially things related to culture and identity, as addressed in our question for the year. The book to me performs reasonably well when paired with our goal of answering our year-long quandary. The book performs strongly in the "identity" and "culture" categories, although personally I found it be both despicable and quite frankly, irritating.

Identity in NC is of nearly vital importance, almost every character going through an identity crisis at one point or another. The "who we are" part of our year-long search for an answer is illustrated magnificently in this book, Tambu and company change themselves frequently based on their environment, and many of their changes are not for the better (ex.-Nyasha's anorexia and bulimia) Tambu finds herself in the midst of a roiling mind and is constantly torn between duty or friends, work or family. The book really is all about her development into the person she is today, so the "identity" portion of our guiding question has been established firmly by this book.

Culture is another massive factor in Nervous Conditions. The sheer quantity of Shona culture is almost overwhelming, which isn't always a pro but still includes many different instances of culture impacting lives. Singing and dancing were both fun and required in Shona culture, a staple in family get-together s and special occasions. When Tambu goes off to live on the mission, the singing and dancing stops as she enters a more dignified world of biscuits and cream, as well as forks and knives and balls and galas.

This book, while not being an enjoyable read, would certainly answer our guiding question for the year adequetely enough to complete the course. I have clearly showed the book's strong suits of identity and culture, both of which are huge pieces of the year-long question. The book was not terribly well written, nor very interesting, so I have a sneaking suspicion their will be dissent and some even outright hatred of this novel next year (this year was no different). The book, I grudgingly concede, should be included in the syllabus next year because it helps answer the year-long question, and for no other reason than that. Adieu,
~Charles