Book Review- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This book written in 1808 is still a remarkable book showing a courtship between prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet and proud Mr Darcy. The English setting in this novel helps one to understand the class differences as dictated by wealth and society and the inheritance laws that excluded the females from inheriting the estates. This is why Mrs Bennet's sole purpose was to see her five daughters well married. It was wonderful quotes that I would love to share.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

This is the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice and stands as one of the most famous first lines in literature

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."

"Loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex.”

This book was a compulsory literary text (set book) in the Kenyan secondary schools for many years.In 1995, this novel won both the Jomo Kenyatta Literature Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book in the Africa Region.An epic story spanning cultures, it tells the lives of three generations of women. The first woman, Akoko sets the pace by defying culture and asserting her position as a woman in the Luo cultural setting. It traces the story of Akoko through to the children who live and die in the 20th century. A wonderful read that has been criticized as feminist but one that tells about lives of different women through different generations. Some of my favourite quotes include;

"A home without daughters is like a river without a source"

"Do not decide the wisdom of a man by the brevity of his quiet or the multitude of his words. It is only a wise man who can decide quickly  that he doesn’t know and needs to seek more knowledge. A fool  knows everything. It is only a wise man who does not hide his folly behind many words.” 

“In any case I have done anatomy, and beneath the skin everyone is remarkably the same. Even the blood, which is supposed to be thicker than water, is all just a combination of iron and protein in every instance. Some people are good. Others are bad—it’s got very little to do with their blood or tribe. It’s all in the heart.” 

“It does not matter that she did not understand the language. Some feelings go beyond words.”

And here are some quotes about women;

“...a child lies in its mother’s womb; the first sound it hears is her heartbeat and the first human voice it recognizes is hers.” 

“I feel unfinished, as if I’m not completely formed; that I still have some growing up to do—which I am sure sounds like nonsense in this country where women marry in their teens and manage to have successful marriages.”

Book Review- London, Capetown, Joburg

Interesting book... by an author who lives in Kenya! its a story about race, about love, and family.It broke my heart towards the end. the author is obviously talented. she weaves herself a story and gives the protagonist character in spite of their racial differences...

The book broke my heart towards the end.. but then again which book doesn't....Its portrayal on love was a bit unrealistic. Germaine and Martin's marriage seemed so ideal to a fault...

About the author; Zukiswa Wanner (born 1976) is a South African journalist and novelist, born in Zambia and now based in Kenya. Since 2006, when she published her first book, her novels have been shortlisted for awards including the South African Literary Awards (SALA) and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. In 2015 she won the K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award for London Cape Town Joburg (2014). In 2014 Wanner was named on the Africalist of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature.

Book review- The Secret lives of Baba Segis wives

This is one of the books that I have always wanted to read... I  was not disappointed. yes, it was vulgar but I loved every page of it. Some of the themes included polygamy, literacy among others. Bolanle the fourth wife who is a graduate exposes the big secret in baba segis household... the book takes you to Ayikara the place no one wanted to say they knew... the book makes you rethink the position of the girl child in the contemporary African society... Baba segis second wife Iya tope was sold by her father as a result of a failed cassava harvest. early marriages are still common in Africa. The use of the title Iya (mother of) also shows how a childless woman in the African society may suffer from lack of an identity.
Some of my favourite quotes include;


“The choices we have to make in this world are hard and bitter. Sometimes we have no choices at all.”

“My daughters were born with eyes in their stomachs so they are quick to digest all that they see.”

“A real woman must always do the things she wants to do, and in her own time too. You must never allow yourself to be rushed into doing things you're not ready for.

A good read all the same...