Patchwork

by Ellen Banda-Aaku

Winner of the Penguin Prize for African Writing 2010 (fiction). Destined from birth to inhabit two very different worlds - that of her father, the wealthy Joseph Sakavungo, and that of her mother, his mistress - this emotive tale takes us to the heart of a young girl's attempts to come to terms with her own identity and fashion a future for herself from the patchwork of the life she was born into. Beautifully constructed, warm and wise, this is a novel that will transport the reader to a world in which we can all become more of the sum of our parts.

Genres: Zambia, Africa, Fiction, African Literature, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Coming Of Age

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Ellen Banda-Aaku was born in Woking Surrey in 1965. The middle child of three she grew up in Zambia and has lived and worked in Ghana, South Africa, the UK and Zambia.

In 2004 she won the Macmillan Writers’ Prize for Africa for Wandi’s Little Voice, a book for children. In 2007, her short story, Sozi’s Box, was the overall winner of the 2007 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Her novel "Patchwork," published 2011, won the Penguin Prize for African Writing.

She has a BA in Public Administration from the University of Zambia, an MA in Financial Management with Social Policy from Middlesex University and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. She’s currently is based in the UK where she lives with her two children Saada and Kweku.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this last week but had to sit on it a while. For my Read Around The World bookclub, we travelled to Zambia this month and this is the story of Pumpkin, who we meet as a child living with her single mom, Mistress to someone of standing, Pumpkins father. The book stood out most for its two abrupt changes of narrative in the middle and then at the end. Still, the overwhelming feeling I have is that I am glad that I read it. Glad I read a different story, of someone whose life is different and yet relatable. This whole reading around the world project is breaking me open in a way that’s hard to describe. Even if I don’t like the book, we chose, I still feel I am coming to understand just how big this planet is. How different we all are and yet at our core, we all just want a home, to love and be loved, to be safe, looked after... and yet we do not get on with each other #readaroundtheworldbookclub

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is excellent, but don’t be fooled by the brief page count; it takes more time than you might expect.

Pumpkin is a 9-year-old girl growing up between two households, competing for her father’s attention, dealing with her mother’s alcoholism and her stepmother’s disregard. And because she’s growing up in Zambia in the 1970s, there’s some violence from across the border as well. Then, flash forward to her as a grown woman: she thinks she’s made peace with her parents, but the scars from her childhood continue to distort her life.

I found this book very engaging, with a writing style that soon immerses the reader in the story and makes it easy to relate to Pumpkin and her experiences. The characters are believable without having to be explained, the protagonist especially; Pumpkin often behaves poorly, as both a child and an adult, but after accompanying her through some experiences that – though relayed in an understated fashion – are pretty traumatic for a child, we can understand why. Often in fiction characters who have been damaged in some way will isolate themselves, but in my experience Pumpkin’s story is more common: she’s desperately grasping for relationships even as her mistrustfulness causes her to sabotage them.

Meanwhile, I appreciate the author’s craft here: each chapter has its own arc, with a beginning, middle and end; though this is certainly a novel, several chapters are self-contained enough to work as short stories. The writing is good and very readable, and the details are vivid and bring the scenes to life. I do wish the publisher had invested a bit more in a copyeditor, as there were a couple of unnecessarily confusing moments (I didn’t realize till near the end that BanaBee is Bee’s mother, for instance).

But the publisher's biggest mistake here is that they apparently haven’t marketed this book at all. Which is a shame, because I suspect it would appeal to a wide audience. I would recommend this to English-speaking readers who haven’t read much from Africa, or to anyone looking for an engaging character study.

[Nina Chachu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the author's first adult novel, though she has written several short stories and poems - for both children and adults. The first part has nine-year old Pumpkin (as she is known) by everyone as the main character; in the second part she is a mother herself. To me the first part works; the second not so well. Maybe it is because the mis-perceptions of a child are easier to accept than those of an adult.

[Gwen NOW ON STORYGRAPH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to take a break from this one for a while. It was difficult to empathize with the main character, Pumpkin, who attempts to hide her mother’s heartbreak-fueled alcoholism. When Pumpkin’s father takes her away from this neglectful environment, she struggles to fit in to her step-family, all the while praying that her mother and father would get back together. In light of the situation she has been born into, Pumpkin is consistently a pathological liar and a bully - often believing the worst of people even into adult, when she accuses her husband of cheating.

While this is an interesting look into Zambian culture and history as well as possible effects of infidelity and divorce on children, it is simultaneously difficult to understand Pumpkin’s actions and reasoning as she continues to worsen the situation.

[Her Royal Orangeness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Zambia, “Patchwork” tells the poignant story of Pumpkin, a bastard child who grows up to become an emotionally tormented woman. The novel opens in the 1970s when Pumpkin is a 9-year-old girl. Her father is a wealthy businessman with a family of his own; her mother is an alcoholic who believes that someday Pumpkin’s father will marry her. Because of her mother’s drinking problem, her father eventually takes Pumpkin to live with his family, a decision that his wife does not handle well.

The tale of Pumpkin’s childhood is heartbreaking - the neglect and poverty of life with her mother, the longing she has for her father’s love, the aching estrangement she feels from her father’s family. In the second portion of the book, Pumpkin is an adult, and she is still reacting to her childhood scars and trying to understand her relationship to her parents.

Pumpkin is a true-to-life character whose actions are understandable though not commendable. The author makes the reader want to adopt the young Pumpkin and befriend the older Pumpkin. You want to somehow intervene and make her life better. The author has taken what could be a clichéd plot and made it something unique and heartbreaking.

It is also a book that is rich in African detail - the Zambian culture, the poverty and class differences, the political problems in the neighboring country of Rhodesia. These details are well integrated into the storyline, creating a strong sense of place without overpowering the plot.

“Patchwork” is a gritty novel filled with raw emotion, and Pumpkin is an unforgettable character. This well-written book won the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing. It is the author’s first novel, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of the Shelterbox Book Club:

3.5 stars. a fast-paced but slightly surface-level read for me. i just couldn't connect to the protagonist despite us spending years of her life with her. i did enjoy the snapshot of 1970s - 1990s Zambia though!

[Kimberly Pendleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

*read for Shelter box book club*
A surprisingly easy read despite some heavy subject matter. The voice of 8 yr old Pumpkin in the first half of the book was so engaging, great character, plus insight into the political/historical aspects of the time.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful novel set in 1970s Zambia. Pumpkin is born of an affair and is pushed and pulled around various adults. Her behaviour is at times bad but the author cleverly shows us why and I was torn by being annoyed with her and rooting for her at the same time.
The book does show some harrowing issues through the eyes of the child and also the wider political such as the war in what is now Zimbabwe and how colonialism affects Tata (Pumpkin's dad) throughout.

Read as part of ShelterBox book club.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well written and gives a good picture of life in Zambia across social classes. The story is not an uplifting one, none of the characters are at all likeable and the author doesn't resolve the dilemmas by the end of the book.
So why did I read it (apart from just because I wanted a book from Zambia for my World Tour)?
Because it really is good, a page-turner, just not one to make you laugh.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a quick read - it could have been longer. ;) i'm used to thick books. i really enjoyed the story and it was one of those books that i found hard to put down. i love reading about other cultures and what makes people tick. i love the name of the book - as it clearly comes through in the story.

there were quite a few mistakes in the book, which wasn't cool, but at least i enjoyed the story. not a prize awarding book, but all in all worth reading.

[Chinyimba Mando · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most brutally honest depictions of a character I've ever read. Aaku is an excellent writer with an insightful understanding of the Human Condition. Definitely five star worthy.

[Between2_worlds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlikable would be how I would describe the protagonist or antagonist Pezo “Pumpkin” Sakavungo of Patchwork a coming of age story of a nine year old girl born as a result of an affair between a businessman and a fashionable woman.

I was about three chapters into the novel when I realised that there was nothing redeemable about Pumpkin. She is a bully, a pathological liar, often driven to rage, a thief and a master manipulator. I then remember a chapter I had read in Roxane Gay’s collection of essays -Bad Feminist and how she talks about “when a girl is unlikable,a girl is a problem”.
I thought about how there had to be a reason for Pumpkin to be unlikable. She wasn’t simply born this way, something had to have happened to her to make her this unlikable. Perhaps it was the circumstances surrounding her birth. How because of this affair between her father & mother, her family was torn apart just as Pumpkin made her way into the world. Or perhaps it was because Grandma Ponga believed her to be a bad seed & if it was so then she must have been.
Patchwork is about love that twists and bends, turning something sweet to sour and ugly. It is about what happens when a bad seed is planted with neglect & nurtured with bitterness, cruelty & anger. It is about a man, a powerful man with an instabile hunger for power constantly needing to validate himself with money, bearing sons and virility. And it is about the women who are consumed by the love of that man and how each woman deals with what that love does to them. Ultimately Patchwork looks into the family ties & a loyalty that binds them to trying to find love and care in a family shadowed by an unpleasant past.

I can't say for sure if I enjoyed the book. There were moments where I didn't understand where the story was going but I followed through to try and piece together the parts I thought I understood. In all of this I keep coming back to Roxane Gay’s theory on unlikability defined as when a character doesn’t behave in way that the reader finds palatable.And Pumpkin is such a character. She does bad things, thinks ugly thoughts and gets away with it. A reflection of the human condition perhaps?

[Js100 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Zambia at the end 1970’s, this tale of Pumpkin is split into two halves. The first half is a vivid description of a nine year old growing up, with a drunken mother, not in poverty but beholden to a wealthy distant father, Tata, who turns up occasionally bearing gifts, but it becomes gradually clear she is his favourite child. Pumpkin is aggressive, a liar, and not an attractive character. She is taken to Tata’s farm, meets her half siblings and potential stepmother, Mama T, a highly conflicted relationship, and Sissy the maid who deflects MamaT and who tries to instil some ethical values into her. She realizes she loves Tata though in awe of him.

In the second half, she is 31, still aggressive, fighting a girl who she thinks is stealing her husband. There is reconciliation with Mama T as Tata seeks high office in an election.

Pumpkin isn’t really a very attractive character, she is highly flawed, suppressing her feelings.It is entirely written from Pumpkin's viewpoint.We get no sense of her professional life as an architect. Although set in Africa, it’s no poverty memoir, Tatas money is everywhere, it could be anywhere, tribalism is barely mentioned, though herbal remedies and magic feature. It’s quite short and some of the secondary characters are underdeveloped, notably her husband.

AIDS casts a pall over the final stages and there is an unexpected twist.

I quite enjoyed it, the writing is clear, and the many conflicts feel realistic, but it is less a guide to Africa than a woman raging against the world, and eventually learning to accept mistakes and move on.

As usual, the publisher didn’t add a glossary of terms.

I received this book from the Shelterbox book group. Shelterbox is a UK based disaster relief charity affiliated to Rotary.

[Reshma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was teetering between rating this book a 3 or 4. I enjoyed this book and was compelled to keep reading. The writing was excellent and the author did a great job of describing cultural nuances, language, and experiences unique to Zambian society. She also did well to get into some very touchy social subjects and to describe how hurt can shape a person’s entire life and being. Almost every character was living with so much pain. All of this was penned beautifully. But I went with the lower rating in the end because I felt the story didn’t go anywhere. It was like a long descriptive essay. But not a “story” that you could sink your teeth into or get immersed in. I’ll certainly look out for her next book though!!

[Philip Horspool · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book I have read that is set in Zambia and I enjoyed some of the insight into Zambian society and politics. The overall story examines relationships, growing up and coping with adversity amongst other themes. I found it hard to find any character particularly attractive including Pumpkin, the main character. Whilst recognising her difficult upbringing she hardly acts in a way, either as a child or adult, that endears her to the reader. As others have mentioned in reviews, reading about places around the world is in itself so enriching and I'm glad I read this.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m glad that I read this book even though it felt unnecessarily chopped up into a few sections. I enjoyed following the story of our unreliable narrator, Pumpkin even though I was quite frustrated with her.

[Wim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful novel, a coming of age story of a girl growing up in a patchwork of broken and recomposed families, struggling with identity and acceptation.
The book is well written, with interesting interwoven story lines, and reads easily, in spite of the painful and hard issues it deals with.

[Chisala Mibenge-Kilembe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this so much. Beautifully written.

[Stephen Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3 to 3.5 stars)

The writing was decent throughout and high quality in the second part of the story.

The first part of the story was pleasant enough and I engaged in parts but it didn't capture my imagination. It was very vanilla.

The second part of the story was a lot better and I liked the political intrigue. The ending was cleverly done and I felt far more engaged with the main character of the story and the supporting cast. It wasn't flawless, even in this part of the story there were a few bits which try as I might I couldn't find that interesting.

[Rhiannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character Pumpkin had an authentic voice and it was interesting reading about Zambian culture and history, however it also contained trauma and VAWG. There was too many unanswered questions at the end for me, and the ending was too abrupt- I am left wondering!

[Aysia Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and intriguing read.

I enjoyed all the scenic descriptions.

The way the author is candid with her approach detailing sensitive topics and experiences (child sexual abuse), really made me stop and pause before being able to continue.

I wanted more from the ending.

My interpretation of Grandma Pongas relationship with TaTa is a confusing one. (Were they intimate?)

This story, gives readers an exploration of love and hate, family dynamics, through the life of a 9 year old girl. You are then following her journey as an adult in part 2.

I’d recommend this book as it’s insightful.

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve got to admit I thought this would also be a no go, it started off slow but once I got further into it I literally couldn’t put it down.

We have Pumpkin who is not a child torn between her mother and father.. both worlds are completely different, her mum a drunk and her dad a wealthy farm owner.

The book takes us on a journey of a strong female from a young age just wanting to be loved and noticed by both parents. There is talk of sexual abuse (very mild details), alcoholism, affairs and death.

Pumpkin goes through a rollercoaster of a life and it’s definitely not smooth sailing!

[Caitlin Regola · Rating 4 out of 5]

part 1 was a little slow but part read part 2 in an evening and jesus christ 😢😢😢😢

[Kathrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patchwork follows the life of "Pumpkin" first when she was around nine and then in the second part in her early 30s. The book describes a childhood that had this girl stranded between the worlds of her rich dad whose illegitimate child she was and her alcoholic mother. The story also covers, how some hurt that happened in the past can have wide reaching impacts in the life of people and their families. I thought the book was easy to read, the narrative just sucked you right in, but it was nevertheless impactful.

[☕Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It was very well-written and the characters were complex and well-drawn.

Ratings:

Writing: 5
Characters: 5
Story line: 4
Impact: 5

Overall rating: 4.75

[R Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is in two parts, with the narrator initially as a 9 year old girl pulled between both her parents and then 21 years later as a 30 year old, allowing us to see how childhood has impacted her in adulthood. It is simply told but quietly effective in drawing you in to her world.

[Joel Benjamin Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patchwork is set in Zambia and is a two part story of Pezo "Pumpkin" Sakavungo and her relationships in a Zambia affected by an independence struggle from neighbouring Rhodesia and internal society issues like xenophobia and poverty. On one hand, it's her dysfunctional childhood story from when she's about 9 and then on the other it's her grown up story when she's 31.

Ellen Banda-Aaku is relatively unknown in literary circles in Kampala so it was a privilege reading her 2011 book which won the Penguin Prize for African Writing in 2010. The prize is more known to residents of Southern Africa so it explains why this book isn't known too much higher up.

Patchwork is the first title I've read from a Zambian author and it feels very much like it was written by a Ugandan, not just because of the themes shared culturally but the similarities between the two languages Nyanja and Luganda.

I started off this book while reading Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and was shocked by the similarities in the first three chapters. Here was a young girl living with her mother "Ma", but despite loving her still desired to live with her father "Tata" and prayed for a wedding in the future.

From the onset, the image of Pumpkin being patchwork starts forming. In between homes and parents, she becomes a mischievous brat of a girl who does everything to look unaffected by the world around her. She fights, lies, steals and does what seems natural to her if it protects her confidence.

The book is a smogasboard of themes that are commonplace, not just in Zambia or Uganda but possibly the world. Pumpkin's 9 year old version highlights issues unique to childhood and she pulls it off convincingly. Banda-Aaku's writing details expressions, mind train and conversations that reflect how a child would behave. Some of the issues she touches on range from living with a single parent, to living with a step parent, to moving to and fro homes, discovering "bad manners" and its effects like abortion, to mention but a few.

When the page is turned and Pumpkin is an adult, the issues grow up as well. We're dealing with topics such as infidelity, jealousy, HIV/AIDS, politics, business and xenophobia.

What Banda-Aaku manages to do is tell very many stories from the eyes of Pumpkin. Her relationships with her mother, and grandmother; father and stepmother; husband and friends; father's mistress and her rival. In my opinion, she's not a likeable person but she's genuine and honest. You are not swayed because she's telling her side of the story, you're swayed because she's being vivid and candid and while life's not being too terrible, it's not being too kind either.

I must say that the most noticeable thing in Pumpkin's story is her relationship with her father. He is cog that is connected to each area of her life. The circumstances range from expected to shocking especially when you discover that her grandmother, and her rival are all connected to him amorously. For her, the struggle goes from him being a father, a support, to being a womaniser and a pain. It's what makes the story rich and gives it its potency.

It was an emotional ride. Being Pumpkin's invisible friend through her domestic trials with her mother, grandmother, father, husband, neighbours, step brothers, stepmother, and rival can only lead you to a place of understanding and sympathy. The story itself weaves you through places where love and hate balance each other out, where forgiveness is asked but perhaps never given. Where there is loss but healing unexpected.

It's a story of one girl/woman in a world who is patchwork.

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book in two parts – the first in the late 1970s and the second 12 years later. The first part was much better than the second.
With a back-drop of Rhodesia fighting Zambian rebels, the first part sees 9 year old Pumpkin wishing that her mother and father would live together and marry. But her mother is a drunk, and her father already has a wife. Pumpkin tends to be a petty thief and liar but adores her father. There also is a lot of sex with under-aged girls going on.
In the second part, Pumpkin is now a mother and architect. She still mist rues the truth and is convinced her husband is being unfaithful. Her father is now running for President but there lurks many secrets.
The story questions whether love is greater than hate or is it the same?

[Unathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me one day to read this book because it felt familiar. I understand so much of what this 9 year old goes through. You smell the scents, you see the kids playing *unophuce in courtyard. You feel the tenderness behind an adult who, not know how to apologise does so through a gift offering. The tension of adult secrets, the naughty inoccents of discussing things you know exist but can't yet understand. It was a heavy book to read. I saw much of my childhood in it. It brought back many memories of my own childhood.

[Vuma Lilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review also available on @the_diaspora_reader

Did someone say messy protagonist? I’ve got you one here. Patchwork is the story of Natasha Ponga, who is affectionately nicknamed, Pumpkin. As a 9 year old in Zambia, 1978, Pumpkin comes of age in two homes. Her mother’s - who struggles with alcoholism; and her father’s - as the child he had outside of his marriage. Pumpkin is constantly exposed to areas of life that are way to mature for her. A lot she doesn’t properly take in or process considering her lack of understanding.
•
It’s unusual to call a 9 year old a messy character but time and time again I kept on commenting “this child is something else”. The person she grows into is an exact reflection of the people who raised her and the mistakes made that went un-corrected. More than anything Patchwork is entertaining and at times, intense. I really wouldn’t rely on it for lessons on the social ills that surround the characters, but rather a quick and easy read where once you start you HAVE to find out how it will all end. It wasn’t a perfect fave, but I’m glad I read it
•
I loved the way she narrated Zambian terrain and lifestyle and brought the setting to life! I really enjoyed the 1970s backdrop. I had to sit and ponder over the condition of girls and women in this era and the load heaped on their shoulders. They never receive the apologies, the help or Grace they deserve - that’s powerful commentary on its own.
•
Issues - the publishers did a disservice in poorly printing this book. It won the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing, but was virtually impossible to find it outside of a Kindle. More so, I was concerned that a non-African reading it would get lost in the parts of the culture unexplained. It made perfect sense to me, so much of the story was familiar and invited nostalgia. But, I wish the editors had asked her to provide meanings to make it accessible to those who don’t know the little things - e.g the meaning of “Bana” (mother of) or what a chitenge is. Overall, a reader can manage through that. It’s an easy to start and easy to finish story set in a country that deserves more pop culture narratives

I also would have preferred less passive voice and more active voice. Less descriptions of what people said and more parts of the story where they actually said it. But I do mean it when I say I found this entertaining. It would make an excellent film