She might be worried because it makes him self-absorbed. By looking at the mirror he would notice he imperfections, his 'apeness', and he would try to fix it. Of course he can't fix it because it is in human nature to be ape-like. She is probably worried about him because the mirror is probably also making him unhappy, which she would not like. The mirror is also probably changing his focus. He is no longer looking at her, which makes her sad, but that's the cost of having a mirror in your house grl. She wants him to turn back like he was before the mirror ' face settle back once more into the gentle lines she had once known. '

I love how he is making an excuse that is so elaborate that it could be its own philosophy. He must really not want to kill the goat because that's one effortful excuse. I get what he is saying, that we are lying to ourselves if we think what we are doing is good, and that traditions such as this one are good because they are in the name of God. I am not sure why he seems to think that it is worse to kill and eat the goat than to simply kill it.

In this passage he seems to be talking to his sister, but I don't actually think she is there because we don't see her talking to him, but somehow he is answering her. We might be witnessing the voices in his head.

'fall off any moment', 'fall apart any moment' Any idea why he is using these exact words? Like everything is trying to keep it together, but just can't, and is slowly crumbling. It is breaking the stitches, eh? And he must be his father right? I think the narrator said in some previous page that his father's head had been sewn back. Apparently it was not sewn well enough because it was about to fall off at any moment.

These short stories are weird. I can't get anything out of them. Not cool.

Did he say what the two envelopes are?

I am not sure why a black person would never drink Southern Comfort. It was a whisky created in New Orleans by some Irish Bartender, who is considered to be one of the first mixologists. Southern Comfort is also famous for its fruity flavors. Now that I think about it, Southern Comfort is based in the southern states, so it may be underwood as a symbol of oppression over black folk, but I am not sure I can claim that. Given historical context, the name could be potentially problematic, and is probably the reason why black people wouldn’t drink Southern Comfort. (115)

All of them are black writers from different backgrounds. Here we notice Philip's obsession with black culture. I say obsession because the narrator says 'Clarity, it seemed, had been sacrificed for ugly mood. Even the praises of 'Blackness' had a sour note in them. One felt live coals hissing in a sea of paranoia.' when talking about Philip's writings. He points out that it is not communicating an idea that drives Philip's writing, but his mood. On these pages the narrator sees Philips raw emotions, which or mostly negative, judging by the words 'discontent, disillusionment an outrage'(used in the previous sentence). Even the positive things like praises are turned negative because of the hopeless perspective that Philip provides. Probably one of my favorite lines is 'Black despair lit up by suicidal vision. ' I am not exactly sure what to make of it. His despair is fueled by suicidal visions, visions that are impossible, that exist only in his mind, but are actually harmful. I don't know. I just like the line.

So here we have entered a new segment. I honestly noticed it at the end of the paragraph. In retrospect, there were these three dot separator things there, but I missed them. I want to talk about a really smooth transition here, and an association that very few people can make, there I say none. Yay I dare "none". We start it off with a livid white ring that was around the Sun. One would expect that to be a positive thing, so naturally he continues on talking about the white on a white dove's breast. That is also a positive image, white doves are associated with peace(Which is funny because he is in a violent situation at the moment). Then we go to Swan-Like and Leda and Zeus, Zeus who became a Swan and seduced Leda. The he was reminded of Harry's snake ;) which is a reptile, and the underbelly of the "stinking"reptile is white as the ring around the Sun. The stench of the reptile? noooo, the stench of the Sun was nauseating. That transition was so masterfully done that I can't even...

Kaffir is an offensive racial term which means black African. It evolved in the pre-colonial period as an equivalent to negro. By just this bit of information we can see that the narrator is not welcome. The term grew more popular around 1948, however it has since become actionable. When describing the term, the euphemism the K-word is now often used instead of kaffir. So, now we know how offensive this term is meant to be. You can proceed reading the novel brighter and bolder.

must return here a thousand times

hahahah

I think I might have cracked it, but one can never be sure. I think that the stitches were his writings. It was what ordered his mind. He need it because due to his condition his memories were probably as fragmented as the novel is. I just noticed that he called his works stitches in a previous page 'The stitches were published'.

I was wrong about my remark on page 62 about the three short sentences. I would argue that the exact opposite of what I said there is true. He actually cared deeply about the fact that his stitches were taken out of print. And that is why on pages 62 and 63 he uses unfinished sentences like 'But those stitches, those poems ... ', 'But those stitches ... ', 'Yes, those stitches, those poems ... '. My argument is that Marechera felt too much pain talking about how his stitches were taken out of print. That is why he glossed over the fact by using three simple short sentences. However, he couldn't drop it, he periodically slipped the unfinished sentences that show him reminiscing about the stitches, we might even say that he is grieving.

Would you agree with this? I think it is interesting to talk about.

Interesting way to describe a concert.

I feel like if we combine all the unfinished sentences in the book, we would get another book.

What about them, and later 'But those stitches...' WHAT ABOUT THEM??? And why did you create such a detailed description to separate the two.

I hope AlexV can answer because I am at an impasse. Please aid me.

throwback

These three short sentences describe how his work was 'destroyed'. That is something that a normal author would take to heart, and would take the time to explain what happened, why it happened. Why were the reviewers so upset. A lot can be said about why a book was taken out of print, especially by its author, but Marechera chooses not to do that because that is not what was important. What was important was 'As I read it every single word erased itself into my mind.' Whatever this means. How do you erase something into something I have no clue. Earlier he said 'My thoughts chalked themselves', so the process was automatic, I would even say it was like a trance. He refers to the process of writing the story to be a 'dreamless sleep', which would suggest that he didn't really remember the story, he just wrote it, and then when he read the words, they erased from the page and entered his mind. That's my guess, but honestly, I have no clue. Pls help. Page 62.

Hilarious yet sad.

The original phrase was "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God, the things that are God’s," I wonder why he did not say it like that. I also wonder what he was going to say about St Paul.

This phrase was used by Jesus, who endorsed paying taxes to the Romans. Give the Romans what is theirs. In this case the priest is saying Give the whites what is theirs, submit, give in, and you will not be harmed.

Later he continues '... in the Epistle to the Romans it specifically says that loyalty rather than insurrection is the supreme Christian virtue.' He once again says that they should submit to the oppressors because Christianity does not support insurrection, but rather loyalty and servitude. That begs the question however, how have the white people deserved the loyalty that Christianity is wants to support.

English is his second, Shona - first, but he lists English first, Shona second

The pink triangular pills might turn out to be U-47700. These are synthetic opioids. Some of their street names are “Pink”, "Pinky", or “U4”. What is characteristic of them is that they are extremely potent, and it is very easy to overdose on them. The fact that he is using these with a combination with some 'white tranquilizers' means that 1. he needs to be really calm during the exams, or 2. he is really stupid, or 3. He can't get a hold of anything more reasonable because he is in Zimbabwe.

Obviously the fact that he does not know their names is also very telling of how much he cares about his health. So we see him mix extremely strong opioids with some 'white' tranquilizers, and he does not even know what they are. I think there was a line about the dead soul in a previous sentence, and how when your soul is dead, you don't care about your body. I guess he is taking that to heart. (50)

So what he is noticing is her intonation, but not the content of what she is saying. He is focused on her voice and body language I guess, judging by the comment about the dirtier side, I'd say that his attention is focused on her body mainly.

I am not sure why he said that her intensity refracted his character. I expected him to say that the intensity reflected his character. When something refracts it changes direction, so would it be reasonable to assume that Marechera is telling us that his character was changing just by the intensity of her speech, not the actual content of it. That must be one powerful orator. Impressed.

Woah, a finished unfinished sentence at last

So many unfinished sentences. He thinks he is so smart with these missing links in those sentences. Yeah I said it, yeah, missing link get it, probably not why he did it. If you have any insights please share them with me.

Playful.

could what, could what?!?!?!?!?!?!?

That's a good one. I imagine flashed would signify that his response was quick , and fading at the end. Might he be insecure. Probably not,though maybe yes.

Nobody likes Harry because snitches get stitches.

Let's not get personal. His syntax is not completely crazy. I have noticed that he usually just inverts the positions of two words in a sentence. Why?

I am not sure what to think about that paragraph. I have some thoughts about it, but I struggle with expressing them.

His metaphors are tough to crack. I think that this one is similar to the metaphor about the flies and the public toilet, however this one feels more personal. Here we see the absurdity of his own existence, not of humanity's.

The left hand not interested in what the right was doing - I guess it might mean that one side is blind to see that it is reliant on the other. It might be expressing the self absorption of one side, its selfishness. I still struggle to see how it ties together with the rest of the paragraph. Maybe it was the fact that he did not care about his health on which he is obviously reliant, but has forgotten about it because his soul is dead already and that ties nicely together with the rotten tree that has a page of Shakespeare and Marechera's own photo. May be saying that he is superficial. The page from Shakespeare would not normally be found on a rotten tree, and it would not help the tree survive. Same goes for the photo.

I don't know guys, these metaphors are killing me. Hope someone will enlighten me soon.

I was, or I knew a dead tree... Isn't it the same? Probably isn't.

Of course you couldn't they did not happen in this fragment. Or did they?????????

Hahahahahahaha, he had me in the first half. This guy... He acted as if he was going back to another fragment linked it to the one with Harry, and they intertwined. The fragments existed in the same world for a bit, but they actually didn't. Wow...

how is that cat alive

blasted barman, and later we get barman blurted. always using those bs together I see. Does it have purpose.

Just want to highlight how hilarious this one is. And true.

Why did he tear his books only to buy new ones. Was his demonstration ill-intentioned or not? I think he was showing his mother his contempt towards the language, but I cannot claim that with certainty. He then bought new ones because the inescapable truth is that he needs new one.

It is funny that the same store that sells english exercise books, also sells bread and butter. I think that's another metaphor for the human condition. I am joking of course, or am I...

so he is the fool

The images he creates and then uses as metaphors are extremely novel most of the time. I think they might be quite effective if I understood them. One can't help, but feel them however.

A bunch of flies (insects linked to feces) humming the Hallelujah Chorus (a chorus some might consider to be 'high-art' whatever that might mean). The flies are located at the public toilet and are in a cloud. The human condition is absurd, trying to produce art out of fecal matter - flies buzzing Hallelujah.

I am not sure how this metaphor works.

Haha, the same turnaround as in the interview.

Why should I be influenced by people, it may be possible though

what does that mean? No one, but a few, but instead of a few it's nobody?

snitches get stitches

We gagged him one stormy night. While I think that this syntax is fun to read, and is interesting, I still fail to see its purpose. Something is seriously wrong.

Nice. faking delight, but delighted mask is beautiful.

Making fun of his brother for using cliches. There is many Peters(people using cliches, and oversimplifying problems) in all oppressed peoples, and I think that they are essential to furthering a cause. That's because not everyone has the patience to look at a problem form multiple directions, in fact most people can't be bothered to do that. You can't have a movement without people to support it, however people won't support it if they don't understand it. That's why you need people like Peter - to simplify the problem and draw people on his side. That fact doesn't stop Marechera from making fun of his brother.

Ian Smith was the prime minister of Rhodesia.

who is the old man? His dad? Europe? Humanity as a whole?

Sounds like my brother - 5th year medicine student - hates life and people - will become doctor

great description

Who is the fool after all

Oh, so the cat that was screaming in agony was a real cat that was being torched and tortured by the neighbor kids parallel to the girl's beating.

Mood setting as detailed as Murakami's is what we find here

its neck.

Why is he saying 'a cat' ? Is he suggesting that he is not looking at her being beaten? IDK

Ok ok ok. This passage is cool and powerful. Very vivid image. Kind of disgusting. Love it.

poor-quality and potentially harmful alcoholic drink. Makes you sick to the core I guess

I think it is a bit boring, saying that freedom is intoxicating. Hardly a novel concept. Remember Under The Yoke? There is a whole passage that is about how freedom is intoxicating even before you have acquired it.

It's sad that he compares the desire for freedom to the desire for drugs. Maybe that's the point. He doesn't think that freedom is a pure value that everyone should strive for. Other explanation might be that he actually holds drugs and freedom in high esteem, which I would say is stupid, and am not interested in the idea. The former sounds way more interesting to me, and would like to learn more.

Just highlighting. Way more interesting than one's life, isn't it.

similar sounding words

Mildly annoying, but not painful?

That syntax my guy. It's funny, but does it serve any purpose? Also suggests that that is no longer the case I think.

Come again?

What is the house of hunger?

Why is the punctuation in this book so wacky?

Angel K. would love this

What? they would sacrifice All in order to get freedom? is that what he means? Sounds right, but I'm not sure

similar sounding words again

Just a cool description that I wanted to highlight.

Joshua Nkomo - Former Vice-President of Zimbabwe

a person's social environment.

panga - a large heavy knife used in Central and South America as a weapon or for cutting vegetation. machete, matchet. knife

an inner or attendant spirit or inspiring force. - outside of demon, but I doubt he means demon here, or does he...

similar sounding words once again

That's the schizophrenia speaking and it's so obvious hahaha. My brother is currently studying psychiatry and told me that mentally ill people like to couple similar sounding word together - things - thongs. They also like rhymes.

Why does he not put a full stop after each one?

Why does he put a full stop after every hero?

That's funny. Obviously dislikes it now, ok maybe not obviously, but I think so. Why would he focus on something so unimportant as the name of a Superhero. There was nothing super in the ghetto? Also he thinks that Spiderman. Superman. Batman. are British comics

characterized by extreme patriotism, especially in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy.

He likes to list stuff. Why does he list so much, so often. Idk

These associations may be used to demonstrate how inescapable the situation was. How everyone was to suffer the same fate.

Another reason why he might be using these associations in this manner, is simply because he relates strongly to them, and wants us to understand that by saying he was them.

One can never be certain.

Rusape is a city. Why is society put in quotation marks, I am not sure. Maybe it is a dysfunctional society because of the inequality, oppression, misery. Idk. Maybe there is some cult in Rusape that he refers to as "society" because the town is a strongly religious one, but I doubt it.

Who else?

Straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie, or book.

Flinched yet did not flinch? How does that work? Flinched physically, but didn't flinch mentally? Maybe...

Dambudzo is a different version of the same name which means (appropriately enough in view of his short but eventful life) 'the troubled one' or 'the one who brings trouble'.

For those who have forgotten, BSAP - British South Africa Police.