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Toloki #2
Cion: A Novel
A Picador Paperback OriginalThe hero of Zakes Mda's beloved Ways of Dying, Toloki, sets down with a family in Middle America and uncovers the story of the runaway slaves who were their ancestors.Toloki, the professional mourner, has come to live in America. Lured to Athens, Ohio, by an academic at the local university, Toloki makes friends with an angry young man he meets at a Halloween parade and soon falls in love with the young man's sister. Toloki endears himself to a local quilting group and his quilting provides a portal to the past, a story of two escaped slaves seeking freedom in Ohio.Making their way north from Virginia with nothing but their mother's quilts for a map, the boys hope to find a promised land where blacks can live as free men. Their story alternates with Toloki's, as the two narratives cast a new light on America in the twenty-first century and on an undiscovered legacy of the Underground Railroad.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2003
8 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
Zakes Mda
33 books259 followersZakes Mda is the pen name of Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda, a novelist, poet and playwright.
Although he spent his early childhood in Soweto (where he knew political figures such as Walter and Albertina Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela) he had to finish his education in Lesotho where his father went into exile since 1963. This change of setting also meant a change of language for Mda: from isiXhosa to Sesotho. Consequently Mda preferred to write his first plays in English.
His first play, We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, won the first Amstel Playwright of the Year Award in 1978, a feat he repeated the following year. He worked as a bank clerk, a teacher and in marketing before the publication of We Shall Sing for the Fatherland and Other Plays in 1980 enabled him to be admitted to the Ohio University for a three-year Master's degree in theatre. He completed a Masters Degree in Theatre at Ohio University, after which he obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Mass Communication. By 1984 his plays were performed in the USSR, the USA, and Scotland as well as in various parts of southern Africa.
Mda then returned to Lesotho, first working with the Lesotho National Broadcasting Corporation Television Project and then as a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Lesotho. Between 1985 and 1992 he was director of the Theatre-For-Development Project at the university and founded the Marotholi Travelling Theatre. Together with his students he travelled to villages in remote mountain regions working with local people in creating theatre around their everyday concerns. This work of writing theatre "from the inside" was the theme of his doctoral thesis, the Ph.D degree being conferred on him by the University of Cape Town in 1989.
In the early nineties Mda spent much of his time overseas, he was writer-in-residence at the University of Durham (1991), research fellow at Yale University. He returned for one year to South Africa as Visiting Professor at the School of Dramatic Art at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is presently Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio University.
Although he spent his early childhood in Soweto (where he knew political figures such as Walter and Albertina Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela) he had to finish his education in Lesotho where his father went into exile since 1963. This change of setting also meant a change of language for Mda: from isiXhosa to Sesotho. Consequently Mda preferred to write his first plays in English.
His first play, We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, won the first Amstel Playwright of the Year Award in 1978, a feat he repeated the following year. He worked as a bank clerk, a teacher and in marketing before the publication of We Shall Sing for the Fatherland and Other Plays in 1980 enabled him to be admitted to the Ohio University for a three-year Master's degree in theatre. He completed a Masters Degree in Theatre at Ohio University, after which he obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Mass Communication. By 1984 his plays were performed in the USSR, the USA, and Scotland as well as in various parts of southern Africa.
Mda then returned to Lesotho, first working with the Lesotho National Broadcasting Corporation Television Project and then as a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Lesotho. Between 1985 and 1992 he was director of the Theatre-For-Development Project at the university and founded the Marotholi Travelling Theatre. Together with his students he travelled to villages in remote mountain regions working with local people in creating theatre around their everyday concerns. This work of writing theatre "from the inside" was the theme of his doctoral thesis, the Ph.D degree being conferred on him by the University of Cape Town in 1989.
In the early nineties Mda spent much of his time overseas, he was writer-in-residence at the University of Durham (1991), research fellow at Yale University. He returned for one year to South Africa as Visiting Professor at the School of Dramatic Art at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is presently Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio University.
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April 22, 2021
Feeling a little iffy about this one. I’ve read the “Ways of Dying” and loved it. And yes, you guessed it. This was nowhere as brilliant.
Mda tried to make “Cion” into a sequel to “Ways of Dying” and unfortunately, it did not work. The whole book (and the first chapter especially) is full of random disclaimers like: “Noria died, I am in the U.S.A now. Wondering what happend? I’ll tell you another time” or “I am not that skillfull with quilting but remember? I used to be a good painter back in the village”. Not to mention, that Toloki’s use of language and narration in Ways of Dying are totally alianated from the way Toloki expresses himself in Cion.
Luckly, the unfamiliar tone and random disclaimers do not spoil the actual plot of the book. They feel like hiccups in a storytelling that is otherwise quite interesting.
However, they could have been omitted if only Mda wasn’t trying to capitalise on a character that was previously successful. The book would be equally as good , if not better, if only he actually reimagined a new and original main character.
As for the plot itself, Mda transitions back and forth inbetween the 2010s and the Civil War. The story of Toloki’s arrival into the USA is alternated with the ballad of Nicodemus and Abednego, two brothers who managed to escape form a breeding farm for slaves towards the end of the Civil war. Interestingly, a reacquiring theme in the book is the Art of quilting, its techniques, cultural heritage, as well as its importance for the Underground Railroad. Rather specific, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
However, what I appreciate the most about Cion is how deeply personal Mda gets. Toloki of Cion is an autobiographical character, meant to represent Mda himself. And there indeed is a lot of Mda in there. You learn a lot about his perception of the American culture, traditions, American politics, “American” church, colonialism, “african” vs “american” dynamics and much more. Kept me engaged all throughout the book. I will say though, that few of these comments weren’t completely appropriate.
All in all, it would be 4/5 if only I haven’t read Ways of Dying before.
3/5 ✨, but go and read it anyways!
Mda tried to make “Cion” into a sequel to “Ways of Dying” and unfortunately, it did not work. The whole book (and the first chapter especially) is full of random disclaimers like: “Noria died, I am in the U.S.A now. Wondering what happend? I’ll tell you another time” or “I am not that skillfull with quilting but remember? I used to be a good painter back in the village”. Not to mention, that Toloki’s use of language and narration in Ways of Dying are totally alianated from the way Toloki expresses himself in Cion.
Luckly, the unfamiliar tone and random disclaimers do not spoil the actual plot of the book. They feel like hiccups in a storytelling that is otherwise quite interesting.
However, they could have been omitted if only Mda wasn’t trying to capitalise on a character that was previously successful. The book would be equally as good , if not better, if only he actually reimagined a new and original main character.
As for the plot itself, Mda transitions back and forth inbetween the 2010s and the Civil War. The story of Toloki’s arrival into the USA is alternated with the ballad of Nicodemus and Abednego, two brothers who managed to escape form a breeding farm for slaves towards the end of the Civil war. Interestingly, a reacquiring theme in the book is the Art of quilting, its techniques, cultural heritage, as well as its importance for the Underground Railroad. Rather specific, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
However, what I appreciate the most about Cion is how deeply personal Mda gets. Toloki of Cion is an autobiographical character, meant to represent Mda himself. And there indeed is a lot of Mda in there. You learn a lot about his perception of the American culture, traditions, American politics, “American” church, colonialism, “african” vs “american” dynamics and much more. Kept me engaged all throughout the book. I will say though, that few of these comments weren’t completely appropriate.
All in all, it would be 4/5 if only I haven’t read Ways of Dying before.
3/5 ✨, but go and read it anyways!
October 12, 2009
I had not read of Ways of Dying or heard of Zakes Mda before reading the Essence article that featured Cion as the October 2007 book of the month. Based on the article's synopsis, I knew it was a book I wanted to read, so I ordered it immediately - in doing so, I have no regrets - what an insightful, creative, and often humorous read!
Cion follows the travels of Toloki, a professional mourner (which in itself is an unusual profession), as he ventures to Southeastern Ohio (Appalachian country). It is in this rural, impoverished setting and through Toloki's eyes that American pop culture, politics, and other "isms," such as racism, colorism, sexism, etc. are explored. A Halloween prank-gone-bad leads Toloki to form an unusual friendship with a local, rather eccentric family. His host family is self-described as WIN (White-Indian-Negro) and it is with them that the complexities of racial identity, prejudice, and stereotypes emerge.
Mda uses his creativity and playwriting skills to construct scenes that evoke crystal clear images and crafty dialogue/arguments to cover aspects of African American history (a wonderfully imagined Underground Railroad escape is presented as a sub-plot) and its far-reaching impact on Americans today. Toloki's observations and internal thoughts/commentaries are oftentimes laugh-out-loud funny and laced with truth and heartfelt honesty. This book is definitely in my 2007 Top 10 list - I have already ordered his earlier works and look forward to the reading experience.
Cion follows the travels of Toloki, a professional mourner (which in itself is an unusual profession), as he ventures to Southeastern Ohio (Appalachian country). It is in this rural, impoverished setting and through Toloki's eyes that American pop culture, politics, and other "isms," such as racism, colorism, sexism, etc. are explored. A Halloween prank-gone-bad leads Toloki to form an unusual friendship with a local, rather eccentric family. His host family is self-described as WIN (White-Indian-Negro) and it is with them that the complexities of racial identity, prejudice, and stereotypes emerge.
Mda uses his creativity and playwriting skills to construct scenes that evoke crystal clear images and crafty dialogue/arguments to cover aspects of African American history (a wonderfully imagined Underground Railroad escape is presented as a sub-plot) and its far-reaching impact on Americans today. Toloki's observations and internal thoughts/commentaries are oftentimes laugh-out-loud funny and laced with truth and heartfelt honesty. This book is definitely in my 2007 Top 10 list - I have already ordered his earlier works and look forward to the reading experience.
July 5, 2021
Disappointed I must say. I had really liked Ways of Dying and Cion feels like a not-so-well-executed continuation of the story.
The main issue is that it felt like Mda was trying too hard to make it seem as if Cion was just a natural continuation of the main characters life, but it felt nothing like it. One of the sentences which demonstrates this failure is: “... a letter than the sciolist received from a professor who had read Ways of Dying which, as I believe you know by now, is the story of my life as conceived and recorded by the same sciolist.” In reality, even a reader who has read ways of Dying does not think this. That is because Ways of Dying is written in a very simple way, which makes the reader feel like someone from a poor background is telling the story. Secondly, it’s narrated in first person plural hence it is clearly not written by a “sciolist”.
A whole another story is how Toloki from Cion feels nothing like the Toloki the reader is introduced to in Ways of Dying.
Maybe if I haven’t read Ways of Dying, I would like the book, and take it for what it is. At the end of the day, it is a historical novel which successfully intertwines the present to the slavery past of the US and shows its ramifications today. Typically, this is the kind of book that totally catches my interest. But having read this as a sequel to Ways of Dying, this cannot fully be said to have been the case.
The main issue is that it felt like Mda was trying too hard to make it seem as if Cion was just a natural continuation of the main characters life, but it felt nothing like it. One of the sentences which demonstrates this failure is: “... a letter than the sciolist received from a professor who had read Ways of Dying which, as I believe you know by now, is the story of my life as conceived and recorded by the same sciolist.” In reality, even a reader who has read ways of Dying does not think this. That is because Ways of Dying is written in a very simple way, which makes the reader feel like someone from a poor background is telling the story. Secondly, it’s narrated in first person plural hence it is clearly not written by a “sciolist”.
A whole another story is how Toloki from Cion feels nothing like the Toloki the reader is introduced to in Ways of Dying.
Maybe if I haven’t read Ways of Dying, I would like the book, and take it for what it is. At the end of the day, it is a historical novel which successfully intertwines the present to the slavery past of the US and shows its ramifications today. Typically, this is the kind of book that totally catches my interest. But having read this as a sequel to Ways of Dying, this cannot fully be said to have been the case.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2010
I was befuddled initially but so glad I stuck with it. If you are familiar with Athens County, OH or Ohio University's Halloween bash, you'll be more interested in this.
June 21, 2021
The first book of Zakes Mda that I read was Ways of Dying, featuring Toloki, who decides to be a professional mourner, and appears again as the protagonist in this book. But I read it 20 years ago, so I can't remember much of it, and perhaps I need to read it again to understand this one.
In Cion Toloki has achieved some success in his career as a professional mourner in Johannesburg and is touring the world to study professional mourners in various cultures. He does this at the instigation of the mysterious sciolist, who I cannot remember from the first book at all. And I would like to know more, because the first place the sciolist sent Toloki to was Durham in England -- more specifically to Durham Cathedral, to the tombs of St Cuthbert and St Bede. And the sciolist himself appears to be connected with St Chad's College, just over the road from the cathedral. I am particularly interested in that because I spent two years studying at St Chad's College, one of them in a room with a view of the chapel of Nine Altars at the Cathedral, and the other with a view looking the opposite way over the River Wear and Kingsgate Bridge, and the People's Gin Palace, officially known as Dunelm House, now threatened with demolition after 60 years, whereas the cathedral has stood for about 900. So I really would like to know more about the sciolist.
In this book, however, Toloki spends only a short time in Durham, apparently as a tourist, but stays for more than a year in the small hamlet of Kilvert in south-eastern Ohio, where he spends much of the time with the Quigley family, Mahlon and Ruth, and their grown-up children Obed and Orpah. And the rest of the book is about a South African's attempts to make sense of the contradictions of American culture as shown in the microcosm of one family.
There are excursions into the family's past where some ancestors had been slaves in neighbouring Virginia, and it tells the story of the escape of two of them across the Ohio River, which is the River Jordan in the mythology of the slaves. Part of the mythology involves the making of quilts, which, according to family legend tell the story of escaping from slavery.
In Ohio, the family ends up being a representative mix of most of the ethnic groups that make up the USA -- Shawnee, Cherokee, slaves of African descent, Irish and various "Caucasians", described by Toloki with a wry sense of humour, yet he grows to love them for all their foibles and idiosyncrasies, and they grow to love him with all his.
This is not my favourite book by Zakes Mda, perhaps because the cultural setting is so unfamiliar to me. I have spent only two weeks in the USA, and saw only a small part of it. Mda has spent much longer, and presumabably knows it better. What I do know, however, is that his books set in southern Africa, where he grew up, books like The Madonna of Excelsior and Black Diamond tell the truth about South Africa. They tell it like it is, and was. And so I suspect that his observations on American culture and American history in this book are spot on too, and that what he writes about slavery and slave life are substantially accurate.
Much of the book is written in the present tense, which I found a little strange, and I'd be interested in reading the reactions of Americans to this book, especially those who live, or have lived, in Ohio and Virginia.
In Cion Toloki has achieved some success in his career as a professional mourner in Johannesburg and is touring the world to study professional mourners in various cultures. He does this at the instigation of the mysterious sciolist, who I cannot remember from the first book at all. And I would like to know more, because the first place the sciolist sent Toloki to was Durham in England -- more specifically to Durham Cathedral, to the tombs of St Cuthbert and St Bede. And the sciolist himself appears to be connected with St Chad's College, just over the road from the cathedral. I am particularly interested in that because I spent two years studying at St Chad's College, one of them in a room with a view of the chapel of Nine Altars at the Cathedral, and the other with a view looking the opposite way over the River Wear and Kingsgate Bridge, and the People's Gin Palace, officially known as Dunelm House, now threatened with demolition after 60 years, whereas the cathedral has stood for about 900. So I really would like to know more about the sciolist.
In this book, however, Toloki spends only a short time in Durham, apparently as a tourist, but stays for more than a year in the small hamlet of Kilvert in south-eastern Ohio, where he spends much of the time with the Quigley family, Mahlon and Ruth, and their grown-up children Obed and Orpah. And the rest of the book is about a South African's attempts to make sense of the contradictions of American culture as shown in the microcosm of one family.
There are excursions into the family's past where some ancestors had been slaves in neighbouring Virginia, and it tells the story of the escape of two of them across the Ohio River, which is the River Jordan in the mythology of the slaves. Part of the mythology involves the making of quilts, which, according to family legend tell the story of escaping from slavery.
In Ohio, the family ends up being a representative mix of most of the ethnic groups that make up the USA -- Shawnee, Cherokee, slaves of African descent, Irish and various "Caucasians", described by Toloki with a wry sense of humour, yet he grows to love them for all their foibles and idiosyncrasies, and they grow to love him with all his.
This is not my favourite book by Zakes Mda, perhaps because the cultural setting is so unfamiliar to me. I have spent only two weeks in the USA, and saw only a small part of it. Mda has spent much longer, and presumabably knows it better. What I do know, however, is that his books set in southern Africa, where he grew up, books like The Madonna of Excelsior and Black Diamond tell the truth about South Africa. They tell it like it is, and was. And so I suspect that his observations on American culture and American history in this book are spot on too, and that what he writes about slavery and slave life are substantially accurate.
Much of the book is written in the present tense, which I found a little strange, and I'd be interested in reading the reactions of Americans to this book, especially those who live, or have lived, in Ohio and Virginia.
February 11, 2020
When I reached page 100 I decided I liked this book, 3 stars, by page 200 I thought 4 stars. Now I’ve finished it and it is definitely 5 stars *****. It’s simply gorgeous- subtle multilayered plot, lovable & infuriating characters so real you’ll feel you know them, a perspective on American history and life that may surprise you. All that wrapped up in evocative writing that will pull you into Mda’s magical reality.
a sample that captured my imagination:
"I stop under a giant sycamore near the road to the churchyard...I can see why they call this a ghost tree. Its trunk and branches are shimmering in the thin light of the stars and the diminishing last quarter moon as if they have been splashed with fluorescent white paint. As soon as the trunk leaves the ground it opens into a gaping grotto, with dried up veins and arteries running amok in it...
The ghost tree. It is a keeper of secrets. It has many stories to tell." p90, Chapter 3
Sycamore trees are truly beautiful with amazing bark https://www.uky.edu/hort/American-Syc...
I read Toloki #2 before #1 because I was thrilled by an astounding performance of
"Cion: Requiem of Ravel's Bolero"
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/ci...
a sample that captured my imagination:
"I stop under a giant sycamore near the road to the churchyard...I can see why they call this a ghost tree. Its trunk and branches are shimmering in the thin light of the stars and the diminishing last quarter moon as if they have been splashed with fluorescent white paint. As soon as the trunk leaves the ground it opens into a gaping grotto, with dried up veins and arteries running amok in it...
The ghost tree. It is a keeper of secrets. It has many stories to tell." p90, Chapter 3
Sycamore trees are truly beautiful with amazing bark https://www.uky.edu/hort/American-Syc...
I read Toloki #2 before #1 because I was thrilled by an astounding performance of
"Cion: Requiem of Ravel's Bolero"
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/ci...
October 20, 2019
I read this book for bookgroup; I had not read the first in the series. I did not care for the book. I found it meandering and not terribly interesting, nor did I particularly like any of the characters in it.
January 26, 2008
It took me a little while to figure out what was going on in this book, and many of the characters never developed in my imagination, but I really liked it. The author does a great job intervweaving a past story line with the present. The past story is about slavery in the US south; the current story is a "professional mourner" from South Africa who has come to the US to learn more about mourning.
May 30, 2019
Masterfully constructed. Zakes Mda is a wordsmith, this book both easy to read and captivating. Its switching timelines are excellent and the issues it tackles are broad. Highly recommend, and the prequel is not necessary though I imagine just as fascinating.
April 2, 2011
A Big Thumbs Down
This book, Cion, by Zakes Mda, is very hard to read especially in the beginning. It is a far-fetched, disconnected story that jumps all over the place. To top it off the main character, Toloki, is a professional mourner. It is full of vile sexual content and foul language. The book recieved great praise by a few descendants who claim to have read it. Did they not see the insult to their people, be it true or not?
I do feel that Mr. Mda captured the essence of the area, Kilvert, and "some" of the people as seen by outsiders. The people no matter whether black, brown, white, or some shade in between are all related. Mr. Mda's character, Toloki, doesn't understand this, being a true Black man from South Africia. He sees that the people are not all the same even tho they believe that they are, and that they cling to a long ago legend that they don't really know much about other than the oral history they present. He touches on the inner conflict, prejudice and pretense amongst some of these people, and in my opinion he is not totally wrong in that observation. Some of the people say they are colored or black, some are anything but black, some are Indian, Irish is a curse, white is a bad word. The solution to this is...call us WIN (White, Indian, Negro).
The people Mr. Mda came to befriend, as he calls it, and interview for his book gave him the impression of not knowing who they are. I can understand that thru Mda's broader scope of vision in the world and mainstream societies. It is true that they, the people, all have a different version of what their race is...sometimes even in the same family. He also captures the attitude that "some" have about living in poverty; blaming the outside world, or the past and not taking responsibility for themselves.
At any rate, Mr. Mda can call it fiction, but I could pick out many of the characters and stories he was writing about...Those he interviewed were obviously trusting of him, befriending him and praising him without even reading the book. It is a very insulting book. If you have people in the area, or come from the area you would feel something in your heart, no matter what your beliefs or understanding of the family history, no matter your racial self-identification. I felt truly saddened and nauseated at the way this man used these people to make fun of all of them and their stories in his book.
I'll just add the book to my collection because it mentions so many of our places and people, although with a very twisted and insulting version, yes he calls it fiction, but it is insulting, whether he meant it to be or not. Mr. Mda does not treat the subject with any respect or sensitivity, instead he seems to make fun of the history and the people of Kilvert. The Washington Post saw it that way (see below, read the definitions!). Mda's character Toloki comes off as the Black intellect amongst the mixed up, not so bright people of Kilvert. As much as an insult this is to many of the people in the area, and as sad and angry as it made me feel while reading the book, unfortunately if the shoe fits they'll have to wear it.
This Washington Post Review says it like it is:
"One of the most prolific black writers of post-apartheid South Africa, Zakes Mda, has now cast his roaming, wry (wry means marked by or displaying contemptuous mockery of the motives or virtues of others: cynic, cynical, ironic, ironical, sardonic) and satirical (satirical means contemptuous or ironic in manner or wit: derisive, jeering, mocking, sarcastic, satiric, scoffing, sneering) eye upon the United States, in particular the rural southeastern Ohio community outside of Athens, Ohio (where, incidentally, Mda teaches at Ohio University).
I give it a big thumbs down!
This book, Cion, by Zakes Mda, is very hard to read especially in the beginning. It is a far-fetched, disconnected story that jumps all over the place. To top it off the main character, Toloki, is a professional mourner. It is full of vile sexual content and foul language. The book recieved great praise by a few descendants who claim to have read it. Did they not see the insult to their people, be it true or not?
I do feel that Mr. Mda captured the essence of the area, Kilvert, and "some" of the people as seen by outsiders. The people no matter whether black, brown, white, or some shade in between are all related. Mr. Mda's character, Toloki, doesn't understand this, being a true Black man from South Africia. He sees that the people are not all the same even tho they believe that they are, and that they cling to a long ago legend that they don't really know much about other than the oral history they present. He touches on the inner conflict, prejudice and pretense amongst some of these people, and in my opinion he is not totally wrong in that observation. Some of the people say they are colored or black, some are anything but black, some are Indian, Irish is a curse, white is a bad word. The solution to this is...call us WIN (White, Indian, Negro).
The people Mr. Mda came to befriend, as he calls it, and interview for his book gave him the impression of not knowing who they are. I can understand that thru Mda's broader scope of vision in the world and mainstream societies. It is true that they, the people, all have a different version of what their race is...sometimes even in the same family. He also captures the attitude that "some" have about living in poverty; blaming the outside world, or the past and not taking responsibility for themselves.
At any rate, Mr. Mda can call it fiction, but I could pick out many of the characters and stories he was writing about...Those he interviewed were obviously trusting of him, befriending him and praising him without even reading the book. It is a very insulting book. If you have people in the area, or come from the area you would feel something in your heart, no matter what your beliefs or understanding of the family history, no matter your racial self-identification. I felt truly saddened and nauseated at the way this man used these people to make fun of all of them and their stories in his book.
I'll just add the book to my collection because it mentions so many of our places and people, although with a very twisted and insulting version, yes he calls it fiction, but it is insulting, whether he meant it to be or not. Mr. Mda does not treat the subject with any respect or sensitivity, instead he seems to make fun of the history and the people of Kilvert. The Washington Post saw it that way (see below, read the definitions!). Mda's character Toloki comes off as the Black intellect amongst the mixed up, not so bright people of Kilvert. As much as an insult this is to many of the people in the area, and as sad and angry as it made me feel while reading the book, unfortunately if the shoe fits they'll have to wear it.
This Washington Post Review says it like it is:
"One of the most prolific black writers of post-apartheid South Africa, Zakes Mda, has now cast his roaming, wry (wry means marked by or displaying contemptuous mockery of the motives or virtues of others: cynic, cynical, ironic, ironical, sardonic) and satirical (satirical means contemptuous or ironic in manner or wit: derisive, jeering, mocking, sarcastic, satiric, scoffing, sneering) eye upon the United States, in particular the rural southeastern Ohio community outside of Athens, Ohio (where, incidentally, Mda teaches at Ohio University).
I give it a big thumbs down!
July 10, 2010
This is a wonderful book written by a South African, now an American, who lived through the apartheid in his country. I was amazed at how well he portrayed the events of American slavery showing how two brothers, one sired by a white man and the other by a slave, escape to freedom via the designs on the quilts their mother made for them. One of the quilts survived through one of the brothers, giving only half a story to his present day descendants. As a result, the family’s matriarch holds her family in a bondage to what she believes is her family’s tradition, leaving no room for creativity, originality, or change. Zakes Mda is a fabulous author.
August 9, 2008
This book was definitely something else! I really liked it, but still don't quite know what to make of it. It's well-written and I really like the way Mda weaves the chapters through past and present(I have a special affinity for any author who "plays" with time in narrative).
This book also made me go and do my own research on breeding plantations, as I had no clue they existed.
All in all, I'd recommend it for anyone who's looking for a fresh voice, and a unique (to say the least) point of view on African-American history/life.
This book also made me go and do my own research on breeding plantations, as I had no clue they existed.
All in all, I'd recommend it for anyone who's looking for a fresh voice, and a unique (to say the least) point of view on African-American history/life.
Read
June 2, 2011Oh my goodness. I don't know what to say. I loved it, I guess, although admitedly it was confusing. It was very circular, or maybe more spiral-y. I love the story, though, and I love the dignity Mda gives to the undeniably ignorant. Because people deserve respect, first and foremost, on the basis of being people. We have to remember that.
May 7, 2014
A South African author has written this unusual book about the contemporary American South. Ruth is an African-American matriarch who runs her husband, grown children, garden and kitchen with a formidable energy driven by an indomitable right-wing Christian perspective. All believable, amazingly enough, this character alone makes this book worth reading.
October 21, 2009
By an Ohio U. prof, set here in and around Athens...can't wait to read it. I'll be happy if it's anywhere near as fantastic as the prequel, Ways of Dying (set, like all of Mda's novels up to this point, in Africa)... Go Zakes!
January 18, 2009
Random and smart. I never really got a grip on it, but I never got the urge to walk away either. I love books that explore history through the present. Wish I had read Ways of Dying first.
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August 8, 2019A unique way to tell old US slave history which carries over to modern issues. At times the story had me thinking to Brink's 'Devil's Valley,' but with much happier overtones.
November 17, 2012
I read about this author & his book in my OU alumni magazine. I was entrigued by the book's setting, Athens OH. Our book club read it, we bought quilts as part of our dissuasion.
March 27, 2015
top read for 2007
April 27, 2008
I don't like Mda's main character. It's no Beloved.
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