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The Wanderers
Across countries and decades, The Wanderers weaves a captivating tapestry of human lives, exploring the enduring-and sometimes contradictory-duties of blood and country.
Ruru's father, a South African freedom fighter, was exiled to Tanzania before she was born, leaving Ruru and her mother to fend for themselves in the township they called home. So when a fatal bus accident claims her mother's life, Ruru is adrift.
Haunted by her mother's absence, another loss sits heavy on Ruru's heart: that of her father, who never returned to the family, or country, he claimed to love. When she learns of his passing, Ruru grieves for the man she never knew, and the answers she would never find.
She seeks solace in Tanzania, where she strikes up an unlikely friendship with her father's widow, a Rwandan refugee named Efuoa. Efuoa gifts Ruru her father's journals, and as she reads, she begins to piece together the fragments of a complicated life of deep love, shifting identity, small triumphs and haunting disappointments.
Ruru's father, a South African freedom fighter, was exiled to Tanzania before she was born, leaving Ruru and her mother to fend for themselves in the township they called home. So when a fatal bus accident claims her mother's life, Ruru is adrift.
Haunted by her mother's absence, another loss sits heavy on Ruru's heart: that of her father, who never returned to the family, or country, he claimed to love. When she learns of his passing, Ruru grieves for the man she never knew, and the answers she would never find.
She seeks solace in Tanzania, where she strikes up an unlikely friendship with her father's widow, a Rwandan refugee named Efuoa. Efuoa gifts Ruru her father's journals, and as she reads, she begins to piece together the fragments of a complicated life of deep love, shifting identity, small triumphs and haunting disappointments.
364 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2021
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327 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 17, 2021
The book opens with a chapter titled “The Graveyard” which evokes feeling of melancholy and sadness which is the over-riding tone of this tale. However, don’t be dissuaded by the heaviness of the subject matter, there are episodic humorous moments which lift the reader from the overwhelming sadness and tragedy of this story.
“You grew up not knowing much about your father, a common enough thing in the black townships of South Africa. His absence left a vague mental torment, lacking the closure associated with death.”
This line in totality sums up what this book is about. It is the story of a man, Phakamile Maseti, who abandoned his pregnant girlfriend. A political activist and freedom fighter, Phakamile, is a wanderer, a freedom fighter who spends the rest of the book trying to justify why he left and making sense of his life as he grapples with his looming death. I often found Phak’s soliloquoys tiresome in parts. I did not particularly like him as a character as I found him self indulgent as a character.
It is also the coming of age story of his daughter, Fikiswa Ruru Biko who grows up in this vacuum without her father who is orphaned after the unexpected death of her mother. She is left to navigate the world while searching for a father figure, the meaning of life and love. While Ruru is robbed of a father, she is blessed with another mother in the form of maman who is truly a gem of a woman. She is a warm and lovable character who introduces Ruru to the pillow books.
In his second offering, Ntabeni grapples with life and death in a philosophical way. It is a hedonistic mix of theology, mythology, genealogy and psychology. True to form, Ntabeni demonstrates his writing prowess with lyrical prose and poetic diction. This is by no means an easy read and is demanding of a reader. I will suggest you have a dictionary by your side as you go through this book. I noted 45 new words that I did not know.
The narrative is seamless, integrating multiple languages like French and isiXhosa which are interwoven into the text. The storyline ebbs flows and flows between the youthful exuberance of Fikiswa and the jaded experience of her father and a mixture of letters. Ntabeni also narrates the story in the second person which is often not encouraged in literary circles but it was well executed. The book is also a political indictment on liberation struggle icons and pan African politics. With the story set in both Tanzania and South Africa, it forms a geopolitical narrative but also makes scathing observations on the general lack of leadership in Africa. It also ponders on the vagaries of colonization and sheds a light on the history of the Xhosa tribes as Phakamile reflects on his background/nizalwa ngobani?
If you are a fan of literary fiction, you will enjoy this offering. This is the kind of book that often ends up in literary award short lists!
“You grew up not knowing much about your father, a common enough thing in the black townships of South Africa. His absence left a vague mental torment, lacking the closure associated with death.”
This line in totality sums up what this book is about. It is the story of a man, Phakamile Maseti, who abandoned his pregnant girlfriend. A political activist and freedom fighter, Phakamile, is a wanderer, a freedom fighter who spends the rest of the book trying to justify why he left and making sense of his life as he grapples with his looming death. I often found Phak’s soliloquoys tiresome in parts. I did not particularly like him as a character as I found him self indulgent as a character.
It is also the coming of age story of his daughter, Fikiswa Ruru Biko who grows up in this vacuum without her father who is orphaned after the unexpected death of her mother. She is left to navigate the world while searching for a father figure, the meaning of life and love. While Ruru is robbed of a father, she is blessed with another mother in the form of maman who is truly a gem of a woman. She is a warm and lovable character who introduces Ruru to the pillow books.
In his second offering, Ntabeni grapples with life and death in a philosophical way. It is a hedonistic mix of theology, mythology, genealogy and psychology. True to form, Ntabeni demonstrates his writing prowess with lyrical prose and poetic diction. This is by no means an easy read and is demanding of a reader. I will suggest you have a dictionary by your side as you go through this book. I noted 45 new words that I did not know.
The narrative is seamless, integrating multiple languages like French and isiXhosa which are interwoven into the text. The storyline ebbs flows and flows between the youthful exuberance of Fikiswa and the jaded experience of her father and a mixture of letters. Ntabeni also narrates the story in the second person which is often not encouraged in literary circles but it was well executed. The book is also a political indictment on liberation struggle icons and pan African politics. With the story set in both Tanzania and South Africa, it forms a geopolitical narrative but also makes scathing observations on the general lack of leadership in Africa. It also ponders on the vagaries of colonization and sheds a light on the history of the Xhosa tribes as Phakamile reflects on his background/nizalwa ngobani?
If you are a fan of literary fiction, you will enjoy this offering. This is the kind of book that often ends up in literary award short lists!
November 27, 2021
The Wanderers is a novel of ideas centered around one daughter’s sojourn to find the path her father once walked. Ruri travels from her home in South Africa to Zanzibar in order to retrace her father’s steps. The narrative alternates between Ruri’s tale in second person and her father’s tale, told through the pillow books he left behind. First person and third person narratives painting a fuller picture of the world these two inhabited are also employed. The use of second person in the novel is quite creative, and I liked Ntabeni’s pastiche of infamous Western philosophers and writers into the mind of his characters.
The Wanderers is a taut and tracing novel deserving of much more international discussion.
The Wanderers is a taut and tracing novel deserving of much more international discussion.
July 25, 2021
#thewanderers - Mphuthumi Mpush Ntabeni
#Kwela
#nbpublishers
Fikiswa (Ruru) Biko (no relation to Steve) is 17 years old when her mother, Nosipho, dies at the close of the 20th century. In an effort to cope with the grief, Ruru starts writing letters to her late mother. Around 20 years later, Ruru, now a medical doctor, travels to Tanzania to trace her father’s footsteps. Phakamile (Phaks) Maseti went into exile shortly after Ruru’s conception, but chose not to return and remained in Tanzania until his death in 1999. Ruru needs to know why; why did he never return ? In Tanzania she meets Efuoa (Maman); a refugee from the genocide in Rwanda, but also the woman that Phaks chose to spend his last years with. Maman has an invaluable gift for Ruru: her father’s journals, his so-called ‘pillow books’, where he had captured his final thoughts whilst terminally ill. He writes: ‘When I am dead, I want someone to read my words and say: a man was fully alive here.’ (p. 121).
The chapters of the novel are presented in three different voices: the pillow books are narrated in the first person, by Phaks himself. The exception being when he refers to his childhood self an an almost impersonal manner as ‘the boy’. Ruru’s letter to her mother are also in the first person, narrated by Ruru herself and addressed to her beloved mother. The third type of chapter is narrated in the second person and covers Ruru’s time in Tanzania. The narrator is unknown; it could be the author; Ruru addressing herself or even either Phaks or Nosipho addressing their daughter in her mind.
The pillow books consist of beautiful prose. Faced with his own mortality Phaks describes himself as a wanderer. He sees himself as burdoned under the curse of Cain; destined to wander the earth, especially after his experiences in the struggle against Apartheid: ‘A soldier’s mind never comes back from the battlefield. So the kindest thing to do for your loved ones, if you’re irretrievably damaged, is to stay away so they may preserve their innocence.’ He, as a member of the amaMfengu, a clan known as wanderers, further compares his tribe to the Jews; always wandering and searching. The raven is also of symbolic importance to him; it is both a reminder of his approaching death and a confirmation that his words (in the pillow books) will grow wings; as the ravens were used as messengers in ancient times.
Ruru will, by reading her own youthful letters and the poetic journals of her late father, finally discovered why her mother said, so many years ago when referring to Phaks: ‘I am no longer (that) young girl….. the seasons multiplied and (the) shadows lengthened.’ (p.10)
The novel is beautifully written and explores the agony of both those who left and those who stayed and deserves 5 stars from #Uitdieperdsebek
#Kwela
#nbpublishers
Fikiswa (Ruru) Biko (no relation to Steve) is 17 years old when her mother, Nosipho, dies at the close of the 20th century. In an effort to cope with the grief, Ruru starts writing letters to her late mother. Around 20 years later, Ruru, now a medical doctor, travels to Tanzania to trace her father’s footsteps. Phakamile (Phaks) Maseti went into exile shortly after Ruru’s conception, but chose not to return and remained in Tanzania until his death in 1999. Ruru needs to know why; why did he never return ? In Tanzania she meets Efuoa (Maman); a refugee from the genocide in Rwanda, but also the woman that Phaks chose to spend his last years with. Maman has an invaluable gift for Ruru: her father’s journals, his so-called ‘pillow books’, where he had captured his final thoughts whilst terminally ill. He writes: ‘When I am dead, I want someone to read my words and say: a man was fully alive here.’ (p. 121).
The chapters of the novel are presented in three different voices: the pillow books are narrated in the first person, by Phaks himself. The exception being when he refers to his childhood self an an almost impersonal manner as ‘the boy’. Ruru’s letter to her mother are also in the first person, narrated by Ruru herself and addressed to her beloved mother. The third type of chapter is narrated in the second person and covers Ruru’s time in Tanzania. The narrator is unknown; it could be the author; Ruru addressing herself or even either Phaks or Nosipho addressing their daughter in her mind.
The pillow books consist of beautiful prose. Faced with his own mortality Phaks describes himself as a wanderer. He sees himself as burdoned under the curse of Cain; destined to wander the earth, especially after his experiences in the struggle against Apartheid: ‘A soldier’s mind never comes back from the battlefield. So the kindest thing to do for your loved ones, if you’re irretrievably damaged, is to stay away so they may preserve their innocence.’ He, as a member of the amaMfengu, a clan known as wanderers, further compares his tribe to the Jews; always wandering and searching. The raven is also of symbolic importance to him; it is both a reminder of his approaching death and a confirmation that his words (in the pillow books) will grow wings; as the ravens were used as messengers in ancient times.
Ruru will, by reading her own youthful letters and the poetic journals of her late father, finally discovered why her mother said, so many years ago when referring to Phaks: ‘I am no longer (that) young girl….. the seasons multiplied and (the) shadows lengthened.’ (p.10)
The novel is beautifully written and explores the agony of both those who left and those who stayed and deserves 5 stars from #Uitdieperdsebek
March 1, 2023
An exquisite novel. Interlinking history, philosophy, theology and politics with a fictional story of loss, family and found family. At times poetic, other times dry and academic, it tells the tale of many african fates.
May 13, 2023
Being an avid cricket supporter I was drawn to the book by its title which is synonymous with the name of Johannesburg’s Wanderers cricket ground.
The Wanderers evoked in me a pleasant and familiar feeling which is something I also felt from reading Sisonke Msimang’s ‘Always Another Country’. I particularly enjoyed the Ruru narrative and her letters to self & her mother. And even though Ruru’s letters were from a woman’s perspective, there was a lot relatable about them for me. I also loved the gems of history shared in Phaks’ earlier letters, as they taught me a alot about the history of the Eastern Cape; Cape Town; Europe and East Africa’s grandest landscapes.
This novel was a feast to the imagination and as someone who rarely reads work of fiction, I can gladly say that this is one of the best works I have come across.
I am most certainly looking forward to reading more of Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s work.
The Wanderers evoked in me a pleasant and familiar feeling which is something I also felt from reading Sisonke Msimang’s ‘Always Another Country’. I particularly enjoyed the Ruru narrative and her letters to self & her mother. And even though Ruru’s letters were from a woman’s perspective, there was a lot relatable about them for me. I also loved the gems of history shared in Phaks’ earlier letters, as they taught me a alot about the history of the Eastern Cape; Cape Town; Europe and East Africa’s grandest landscapes.
This novel was a feast to the imagination and as someone who rarely reads work of fiction, I can gladly say that this is one of the best works I have come across.
I am most certainly looking forward to reading more of Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s work.
July 18, 2024
Hettie Trahms: A very intense story about a young woman's journey to discover the truth and meaning of her life.
My favorite part of the book is where she started reading her deceased father's journal and her own letters to her deceased mother and the similarities between her and her father's journey.
My favorite part of the book is where she started reading her deceased father's journal and her own letters to her deceased mother and the similarities between her and her father's journey.
September 5, 2022
Ntabeni is perhaps one of the best new writers to come out of South Africa. The Wanderers is a marvelous tale, skillfully told, with underlying truths that need to be said.
Do yourself a favour and read it!
Do yourself a favour and read it!
May 2, 2024
please read this!!!!
December 10, 2023
This was a pretty ok book about the account of a mans life near its end and his daughters life too. Ruru goes to the country where her father Phaks went into exile in because of the apartheid problem in South Africa. Through letters from the house of Phaks second wife she is able to find out intimate details about his life . Ruru also I think reads letters that she wrote as a teenager and young adult woman to her mom who died in a car crash. Her fathers letters were very introspective and philosophical. He liked to reference quotes from philosophers and authors that he like. And talk about the absurdism of death which he was going to become first mentally debilitated first. I enjoyed his letters they were uniquely intellectual. Although at times I had a hard time understanding some of the philosophical quotes. The book also talked in second person about the things presently going on in Rurus life. She is very headstrong, blunt, smart her problem with V
Menstrual bleeding was interesting. The psychology of how she thought about it was very interesting. Phaks went to a lot of places when he was in exile. I really enjoyed the way the book ended with him saying that he is ready for the next life. I was happy that the author didn’t write about his Phaks psychological sickness that he was going to suffer with his physical demise before he died.
Menstrual bleeding was interesting. The psychology of how she thought about it was very interesting. Phaks went to a lot of places when he was in exile. I really enjoyed the way the book ended with him saying that he is ready for the next life. I was happy that the author didn’t write about his Phaks psychological sickness that he was going to suffer with his physical demise before he died.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews