Apr 30

Apr 30 The Stone Virgins

Author: Yvonne Vera
Publisher: FSG
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

Winner of the Macmillan Prize for African Adult Fiction An uncompromising novel by one of Africa's premiere writers, detailing the horrors of civil war in luminous, haunting prose.

In 1980, after decades of guerilla war against colonial rule, Rhodesia earned its hard-fought-for independence from Britain. Less than two years thereafter when Mugabe rose to power in the new Zimbabwe, it signaled the beginning of brutal civil unrest that would last nearly a half decade more. With The Stone Virgins, Yvonne Vera examines the dissident movement from the perspective of two sisters living in a small township outside of Bulawayo. In a portrait painted in successive impressions of life before and after the liberation, Vera explores the quest for dignity and a centered existence against a backdrop of unimaginable violence; the twin instincts of survival and love; the rival pulls of township and city life; and mankind's capacity for terror, beauty, and sacrifice. One sister will find a reason for hope. One will not make it through alive. Weaving historical fact within a story of grand passions and striking endurance, Vera has gifted us with a powerful and provocative testament to the resilience of the Zimbabwean people.

TL;DR Review

The Stone Virgins is a technically challenging and emotionally difficult read, but there’s no denying that it’s also an incredible work of fiction. While I struggled with it, I was also so impressed.

For you if: You are comfortable with prose that’s lush, but sometimes hard to follow, if it’s worth it.

Full Review

I’d never read Yvonne Vera before — my experience with African literature is pretty lacking overall, truth be told — so when my good friend Bernie announced he was hosting a buddy read of The Stone Virgins, I eagerly joined. And while I wasn’t quite in the right head space to fully enjoy this one, there’s no denying it’s a masterful work.

Vera’s author bio puts it best when it says her books are “known for their poetic prose, difficult subject-matter, and their strong women characters, and are firmly rooted in Zimbabwe's difficult past.” This is no exception. Winner of the Macmillan Prize for African Adult Fiction in 2000, it focuses on two sisters — only one of whom survives — who live in a village near Bulawayo before and after Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain.

The prose here is lush and gorgeous, and her ability to whiplash between beauty and extreme violence (be warned; there are stomach-churning scenes here) is incredible. There’s something reminiscent of Toni Morrison in the reading experience. But it’s also a challenging read that demands slow attention (and that’s where I struggled, as I was traveling for work, pulled in many directions, and super busy). The book has almost no dialogue; the narration moves fluidly forward and backward in time. One review that I read said it felt like reading someone’s dream, and I wholly agree.

Even though this was a bit of the wrong book at the wrong time for me, I’m really glad I read it — and even more glad to have had Bernie’s group chat full of such smart, careful readers to discuss it with. I’m in awe of Vera’s talent, and it’s easy to see why this one received so much acclaim.