So, I take back what I said last week about Ngugi's stuff being my favorite thing we've read in class so far, because Nervous Conditions has definitely supplanted Wedding at the Cross as my favorite. Dangarembga's style is fantastic- I love how the semi-non-linear style allows for more side stories. I also find it interesting that the story is told through the point of view of Tambu, but most of the action is caused by the other characters. It reminds me a lot of Nick's role in The Great Gatsby, except that I kind of sort of hate The Great Gatsby, especially Jay Gatsby, while I quite like Nervous Conditions, especially Nyasha.
I really, really like Nyasha. She's like Miriamu from Wedding at the Cross, but with the relatability (is that even a word?) of Beatrice from Minutes of Glory. Nyasha is a very realistic character to me. Of course, that's probably in part because, unlike Tambu, she is more Westernized, and so it is easier to compare her "angsty" teenage disobedience with my own life then it is to compare myself with Tambu's near-blind obedience for the first part of the novel. As I have not yet read the ending yet, I'm feeling a little anxious about what will happen with Nyasha. For one thing, she is my favorite character, and I always seem to fall in love with characters who die by the end of the book (Jay Gatsby excluded...). For another, it was pretty heavily foreshadowed at the start of the novel that Nyasha's fate would be ambiguous at best, rather than a happy one.
I'm glad to hear that you like the non-linear narrative: it can be entertaining if you are ready for it. You are right that Tambu is an observer for the other characters, a lens for viewing how others interact with each other. The parallel between Nyasha and Miriamu is a good one, although Ngugi had Miriamu have a happier ending than Dangarembga gave to Nyasha.
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