A man who is not a man

Description

After Lumkile is arrested for robbery, his estranged mother appears and removes him to the Eastern Cape, where he makes a fresh start - reinventing himself at a new school and falling in love. When the time comes for Lumkile to enter manhood by undergoing a ritual circumcision, he prepares eagerly for the ceremonies ahead. However, in his makeshift hut on the mountain, Lumkile realises that something has gone terribly wrong. Having been taught that 'what happens at the mountain stays at the mountain' he faces a stark choice: to seek medical help and risk being forever ostracised and labelled as a 'failed man'; or to suffer life-changing injuries or even death. This deftly written novel is one young man's intimate account of a botched circumcision, and his journey to accept his fate and embrace his future, as he gains a deeper understanding of what it really means to be a man.

Description

"The controversial topic of botched traditional circumcision has been very much in the news of late. This powerful first novel recounts the personal trauma of a young Xhosa initiate after one such circumcision gone wrong. With frankness and courage the author details the pain and life-long shame that is experienced as a result of not just the physical trauma, but the social ostracism of being labelled 'a failed man'. He decodes the values and mysteries of this deep-seated cultural tradition and calls to account the elders for the disintegrating support systems that allow such tragic outcomes to happen. But it is also through this life-changing experience that his protagonist is forced to find his strength and humanity, and reassess what it really means to be a man." --Book Jacket.

Subjects

Genres

• Fiction

Other Editions

• A man who is not a manUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal Press2009-01-01
• Man Who Is Not a ManCassava Republic Press2020-01-01