Harare Review of Books

160 pages.

First published in 2016 (as Period Pain).

Genre: Fiction.

This is such a perfect little book. I added some short reads to my list for this month, inspired by this list on Lithub (11 Short Novels from Around the World that You Can Read in One Sitting), and this was recommended. It had also been on my TBR for years, because Matlwa is one of South Africa’s more famous writers.

This is a story written partly in epistolary form. Chaba has just graduated from medical school, and is looking foward to practising as a doctor. She is a devout Christian. She has struggled for years with an irregular and heavy period, which she relates to the Biblical story of the woman with the issue of blood. Her period problems are finally relieved by endometrial ablation.

When Chaba begins her internship at a local hospital, she is quickly overwhelmed by the long hours and her feeling of hopelessness in the face of so much need. She moves into a flat with a fellow doctor and Zimbabwean woman, Nyasha, who has strong political views, and who is subjected to xenophobia from hospital staff, patients, and the community. Even though Chaba herself is not xenophobic, this causes a great deal of conflict between Chaba and Nyasha. Initially, Chaba finds herself reluctant to speak up, but eventually she finds the courage to collect signatures for a petition in support of foreigners like Nyasha. However, following the success of the petition, Chaba is targeted in a horrific attack.

Much of the novel consists of Nyasha’s thoughts (or prayers), her communication with God, mostly in the form of a lament. Nyasha struggles with her mental health—particularly after she loses her brother to suicide, but also because of the bleeding, her complicated relationship with Nyasha, and her very difficult relationship with her mother. Chaba struggles to reconcile her suffering with her faith in a seemingly silent God.

Matlwa has written a profound Bildungsroman in 160 pages, the coming-of-age tale of a young South African woman that manages to cover themes of womanhood, sexual abuse, suicide, and xenophobia. I am in awe of Matlwa’s facility with story, structure and brevity. This is a quick and highly-recommended read. Read especially if you’re southern African, as the theme of xenophobia (or, in fact, Afrophobia), and the setting, will particularly resonate; however, this is certainly very readable for anyone, anywhere.

My rating: 10/10.