Juggling Truths

by Unity Dow

The Botswanan childhood of Monei Ntuka is shaped by stories from her mother, father, and grandmother as well as from the colonizers and the Christian church in this novel about the tensions between modernization and tradition in postcolonial Africa.

Genres: Africa, Botswana

173 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book recounts a girl's life experiences in a village in Botswana around the time of Independence. The title refers to the many versions of reality the girl, Nei, struggles to understand and reconcile, the mythic stories of her grandmother, the practical wisdom of her mother, the confusing and sometimes self-contradictory teachings of the Catholic and Reformed Churches, and the sometimes brutally imparted knowledge of the elementary school teachers. While the book deals with serious subjects and confusions that Nei must struggle with, the tone is light and Nei's observations are often wise, often funny and occasionally mischievous. Actually, the only reason I would not rate it more highly is what I would see as formal weaknesses. It reads more like a loosely constructed memoir than a novel. It can be frustrating at times when an idea or plot line is not followed through but simply dropped.

[John Steinbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this on my commute and no doubt made some of my bus-mates rather shifty with my crying. Very good, short quick read - written in the perspective of a Batswana woman looking back at her 10 year oldish self in Botswana circa 1960s. An eye opener for Botswana culture for me, a tear jerker for the universal truths of love/family, truth, and place.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Global Read Challenge 66: Botswana

Unity Dow is an incredibly accomplished person. She is a human rights activist and judge as well as former Minister of Foreign Affairs. So I didn't have high hopes that she'd also be a good novelist. I guess she's a quadruple threat though, because this was pretty good. There was a little too much exposition at parts, but overall it was an enjoyable quick read.

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book that reads like a memoir with a convincing voice of a girl growing up in rural Botswana. She observes her family and community warmly but clearsightedly, seeing her child self juggling tradition and change as she becomes educated.

[Mukubesa Yuyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a good book,very interesting.Monei manages to juggle the disjunctive realities of being the fifth of six children of a semi-nomadic farming family, and of being a colonial subject. Fortunate to go to school at age seven, she splits her life between school/village and family/home, trying to determine what is true in the often-conflicting stories she hears from members of her family, or in churches or in school.It explains about the mistreating of children at school as well as at home.I find it quiet intresting especially on the issue of the beast called Dimo who use to open the buttocks wide & the kids would go play inside,thats something else.The other part is that of initiating the cat.Initiating cat,never heard of that.i have asked around and they all keep telling me they have never heard of such a practice.But on the issue of Dimo they people i asked all confirmed the story...

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a good job describing the culture of Botswana. While I didn't enjoy the writing style, I think the style reflects the culture very well, in that it does not go very deep into emotions or explanations, but does provide the type of conversation and thought process of people in Botswana. I also gives very value reference points to the past.

One of its focuses is on the education system as seen by a child and her family. After living here for two years and working in the schools here, I found the story provided valuable insight to the past and how it effects the system today.

If you are planning on moving to Botswana, or are interested in Botswana culture I would highly recommend this book.

[Kayla Stelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book paints a painfully beautiful picture of what life is like growing up as a young Motswana woman. I strongly recommend it!