Drinking from Graveyard Wells

Book Review #02

My goodness, I am happy to be on Substack doing what I do best. Sharing my love for the continent of Africa and in doing so I help broaden our perspectives as we discover histories and cultures that we may not have otherwise known if we had not dutifully searched for them.

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The Beginning —

I listened to a podcast back in 2024, which is the first listed at the end of the article, about an African author was was discouraged from writing in her own language and offering a glossary at the end of the her stories. While in contrast one of her (white) peers were encouraged to mentor with professors during their MFA and had written a story using Latin without providing a glossary or explanation. So why is it when its African authors one must provide a glossary?

Finally, just as in “She Would Be King”, which was my first book review in January, is fantasy and mythical storytelling viewed different from those of Greek mythology. The West wants to dissect the stories in depth so they may even can paint them as false or see them for only entertainment for children. When in many Afro cultures (African-American, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Caribbean) the stories we know aren’t just myths; they are things we or family member have experienced. It’s only the way that the stories are told that is not necessarily made for everyone to fully digest.

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Now, lets get to it.

This book is an anthology of 14 short stories with less than 150 pages. So, if you’re looking for a shorter read during Black History Month, this is it! A few of my favorite stories are “Second Place is the First Loser, Swimming with Crocodiles, Plumtree: Stories, and Home Becomes a Thing with Thorns.”

In these stories there consists words from her native language, which I took the time to look up for myself and I encourage you to do the same. If one is a true reader, it isn’t so hard to guess the meaning of the words when you use context clues, though at the same time my English speaking tongue is still butchering a few of the pronunciations.

In this collection of stories you will learn the history of Zimbabwe when they were under colonial rule when the country was called “Rhodesia’, being a woman in African society, living under dictatorship once the country had gained independence, how it is to be an immigrant (which can come at a great cost), and last but not least, NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU COME FROM & WHAT MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY!

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In Conclusion —

I grew up being obsessed with storytelling from the elders in my community and having a very wild imagination did help me when realizing that I had my own gift of storytelling that can captivate my others. This book is truly top-tier when it comes to creativity, being true to ones culture and self. It challenged me for sure, a couple of stories I read twice, because they were that good!! Myths and fables are told in the hopes of one to recognize the moral of the story at the end. I hope when you read you catch them as well.

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A Short List of Words & their English Translation

• “Sarungano”: comes from the Ngano storytelling tradition in Zimbabwe

• “Mosi-oa-Tunga”: name of the local waterfall given by original discoverers: the Tonga people, for what we know today as ‘Victoria Falls”

• “Tsoro Yematatu”: name of board game

• “Ngiyabonga”: Thank You

• “Ngozi”: avenging spirit

• “Gogo”: Grandmother

• "Baba”: Father

• “Hondo”: War

• “Gamab & Gaunab”: names of Twin Gods

• “Varogi” name for women who could fly, what we think as witches

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About the Author: Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

Yevette is a Zimbabwean sarungano. Her novel manuscript-in-progress was selected by George R.R. Martin for the Worldbuilder Scholarship. She completed her MFA at UMass Amherst and is not the Newhouse Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Wellesley College.

Podcast Interviews:

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