Sweet Medicine takes place in Harare at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic woes in 2008. Tsitsi, a young woman, raised by her strict, devout Catholic mother, believes that hard work, prayer, and an education will ensure a prosperous and happy future. She does well at her mission boarding school and goes on to obtain a scholarship to attend university, but the change in the economic situation in Zimbabwe destroys the old system where hard work and a degree guaranteed a good life.
Out of university, Tsitsi finds herself in a position much lower than she had set her sights on, working as a clerk in the office of the local politician, Zvobgo. With a salary that barely provides her a means to survive, she finds herself increasingly compromising her Christian values to negotiate ways to get ahead.
Sweet Medicine is a thorough and evocative attempt at grappling with a variety of important issues in the postcolonial context: tradition and modernity; feminism and patriarchy; spiritual and political freedoms and responsibilities; poverty and desperation; and wealth and abundance.
Details
More Information
Language
English
Release Day
Dec 4, 2023
Release Date
December 5, 2023
Release Date Machine
1701734400
Imprint
Rising Action Publishing
Provider
Rising Action Publishing
Categories
Literature & Fiction, Women's Fiction, Genre Fiction, World Literature, Coming of Age
Panashe Chigumadzi is a young and upcoming media executive passionate about creating new narratives that work to redefine and reaffirm African identity. She is the founder and editor of Vanguard magazine, a platform which aims to speak to the life of young Black women coming of age in post-apartheid South Africa. She has previously worked as a TV journalist for CNBC Africa, a columnist for Forbes Woman Africa, and a contributor to Forbes Africa. She has been invited to speak at a number of local and international events.
Overview
Sweet Medicine takes place in Harare at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic woes in 2008. Tsitsi, a young woman, raised by her strict, devout Catholic mother, believes that hard work, prayer, and an education will ensure a prosperous and happy future. She does well at her mission boarding school and goes on to obtain a scholarship to attend university, but the change in the economic situation in Zimbabwe destroys the old system where hard work and a degree guaranteed a good life.
Out of university, Tsitsi finds herself in a position much lower than she had set her sights on, working as a clerk in the office of the local politician, Zvobgo. With a salary that barely provides her a means to survive, she finds herself increasingly compromising her Christian values to negotiate ways to get ahead.
Sweet Medicine is a thorough and evocative attempt at grappling with a variety of important issues in the postcolonial context: tradition and modernity; feminism and patriarchy; spiritual and political freedoms and responsibilities; poverty and desperation; and wealth and abundance.
