Patchwork

Winner of the Penguin Prize for African Writing 2010 fiction Destined from birth to inhabit two very different worlds that of her father, the wealthy Joseph Sakavungo, and that of her mother, his mistress this emotive tale takes us to the heart of a young girl s attempts to come to terms with her own identity and fashion a future for herself from the patchwork of the life she was born into Beautifully constructed, warm and wise, this is a novel that will transport the reader to a world in which we can all become of the sum of our parts. Free Download eBook Patchwork by Ellen Banda-Aaku – kino-fada.fr This little book is excellent, but don t be fooled by the brief page count it takestime than you might expect.Pumpkin is a 9 year old girl growing up between two households, competing for her father s attention, dealing with her mother s alcoholism and her stepmother s disregard And because she s growing up in Zambia in the 1970s, there s some violence from across the border as well Then, flash forward to her as a grown woman she thinks she s made peace with her parents, but the scars This little book is excellent, but don t be fooled by the brief page count it takestime than you might expect.Pumpkin is a 9 year old girl growing up between two households, competing for her father s attention, dealing with h...Set in Zambia, Patchwork tells the poignant story of Pumpkin, a bastard child who grows up to become an emotionally tormented woman The novel opens in the 1970s when Pumpkin is a 9 year old girl Her father is a wealthy businessman with a family of his own her mother is an alcoholic who believes that someday Pumpkin s father will marry her Because of her mother s drinking problem, her father eventually takes Pumpkin to live with his family, a decision that his wife does not handle well The Set in Zambia, Patchwork tells the poignant story of Pumpkin, a bastard child who grows up to become an emotionally tormented woman The novel opens in the 1970s when Pumpkin is a 9 year old girl Her father is a wealthy businessman with a family of his ...this was a quick read it could have been longer i m used to thick books i really enjoyed the story and it was one of those books that i found hard to put down i love reading about other cultures and what makes people tick i l...This is the author s first adult novel, though she has written several short stories and poems for both children and adults The first part has nine year old Pumpkin as she is known by everyone as the main charact...This book is well written and gives a good picture of life in Zambia across social classes The story is not an uplifting one, none of the characters are at all likeable and the author doesn t resolve the dilemmas by the end of the book....A book in two parts the first in the late 1970s and the second 12 years later The first part was much better than the second.With a back drop of Rhodesia fighting Zambian rebels, the first part sees 9 year old Pumpkin wishing that her mother and father would live together and marry But her mother is a drunk, and her father already has a wife Pumpkin tends to be a petty thief and liar but adores her father There also is a lot of sex wi...I read a book called Poppadom Preach at around about the same time as I read this novel, Patchwork, by Ellen Banda Aaku They re both very similar first person narrations by neglected children suffering at the hands of their parents However, where Poppadom Preach uses a heavy dose of black humour to illuminate the story, Patchwork follows a muchtraditional path In other words, you ll be filing this under Heavy Going.Set in Zambia in the 1970s 80s, 9 year old Pumpkin is an unwilling ac I read a book called Poppadom Preach at around about the same time as I read this novel, Patchwork, by Ellen Banda Aaku They re both very similar first person narrations by neglected children suffering at the hands of their parents However, where Poppadom Preach uses a heavy dose of black humour to illuminate the story, Patchwork follows a muchtraditional path In other words, you ll be filing this under Heavy Going.Set in Zambia in the 1970s 80s, 9 year old Pumpkin is an unwilling accomplice in her mother s alcoholism, hiding her empty bottles, mopping up her vomit and heaving her unconscious weight into bed night after night They live in a community housing block, the setting for most of Pumpkin s early memories, not to mention street...This is a quick entertaining read Told from the perspective of a pre adolescent girl, the first half of the book was really strong.My problem with the book starts about 70% in when the narrator makes a time jump While I am comfortable with light narrative from a 9 year old, a 31 year old s perspective needs to delveinto characters We don t get to know anything about her husband other than he s not like her father , the relationship with her mother is not explored deeper we don t see ho This is a quick entertaining read Told from the perspective of a pre adolescent girl, the first half of the book was really strong.My problem with the book starts about 70% in when the narrator makes a time jump While I am comfortable with light narrative from a 9 year old, a 31 year old s perspective needs to delveinto characters We don t get to know...I definitely recommend itOne of the most brutally honest depictions of a character I ve ever read Aaku is an excellent writer with an insightful understanding of the Human Condition Definitely five star worthy.

• English
• 05 April 2017
Ellen Banda-Aaku
• Paperback
• 224 pages
• 0143527533
• Ellen Banda-Aaku
• Patchwork