Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman

by Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya

Book Overview

". . . this gem of a book deserves a wide audience. Appropriate for African and women's studies courses and a must for college and university libraries." --Choice

". . . Mpho relates the story of her life with an integrity that makes for utterly compelling reading. . . . The fortitude of this woman, now in her late 60s, is a lesson to us all." --The Bookseller, United Kingdom

"This is a fascinating autobiography . . ." --KLIATT

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 025321162X
• ISBN13: 9780253211620
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A wonderful glimpse into Basotho culture

Having lived in Lesotho, I picked up this book out of a sense of nostalgia. However, if I had never heard of Lesotho, I think I would still love M'e Mpho's story. As the afterword explains, the autobiography, while not written down on paper by the author, truly is the author's word. This is so evident in the lyricism and phrasing. I could hear M'e speaking phrases I have only heard uttered by the Basotho. While many of the cultural practices she describes are slowly changing, they are still so evident in the most rural communities. Basotho are fantastic storytellers, and M'e Mpho is no exception. The book is a quick, engaging read. The chapters are short (I often wished they would continue) and read like short stories. Her story jumps around in time and this adds to the experience. Truly a joy to read. I laughed and I cried. M'e Mpho represents so many strong Basotho women. She offers us a chance to learn about a place so few have even heard of.

It's wonderful

I love this book. Thanks to Limakatso, Mpho 'M'atsepo gave her story for all to read. I am so thankful I stumbled on this book. I read it in 2 sittings and will keep it forever.

Gave Me a Lift

I've never been much of a reader, but out of the few books I have read, this one has to be the most inspirational and touching to me. Singing Away the Hunger is about the real life events and struggles of an African woman who encounters many terrible and sad things: wearing a sack and eating weeds, being beaten by a teacher, the deaths of some of her children, and many other challenges. There are also some joys she shares, such as being in love. Her struggles though, are what were inspirational to me. The way she stays strong and positive through it all is very admirable, because the things that happen to her are unimaginable to me and don't happen in the U.S.A. The form of her writing is proficient, because it gives me a sense as if she is telling her story directly to me. Besides the story being told in first person, I really experienced this when she threw in sentences such as "When we arrive at his house, we find rice with meat. We didn't know what is rice." I was able to sense her fifth grade education, and I could almost imagine her speaking to me in an accent, with her fragments and the African words she uses often such as `M'e (mother) and ntate (father). I got a sense of closeness to her as well as compassion for her. The stories she tells, and the knowledge she gives me about the different people in Lesotho and Benoni, in South Africa, and their cultural styles helped me to understand that there are different cultures in southern Africa. For instance, I learned that Lesotho is much poorer than South Africa, and that there is one language spoken in Lesotho, but twelve different languages in South Africa. Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book is that it is very easy to read and understand. It is also fairly short, and it kept me wondering what type of event she would have to endure next. The titles of each chapter, such as "Death by Novena" or "The Child is Burning" hooked me. The titles alone drew me into each chapter. One downfall, in my opinion, is the lack of descriptiveness. There are things and places that she talks about and includes in her stories that I would have enjoyed more if she could have taken me there with more detailed images. I would have liked to know more about the scenery where she was. For example she doesn't describe the area that surrounds her or where she lived as much as she could have. For the most part, in my opinion, that is all that I feel the book lacked. I enjoyed this book very much because it was inspirational, touching, and at the same time educational. I couldn't have read this book at a better time, because just when I felt things were so bad in my life, I read it and realized that it could be worse, and is worse, somewhere in the world. I would recommend this book to any one interested African cultures or anyone who has had hard times, because along with all the information, this book is sure to give you an appreciation of life itself.

Please read Singing Away the Hnger

In my lifetime I have read very few books that kept my attention from beginning to end. Singing Away the hunger is one of them. This book gives the reader an authentic insight into southern African culture and the struggles that some people endure. I guess I'm just a naturally nosy person, and I love hearing people's stories. My favorite aspect of this book is its authenticity. It is almost as if I was actually sitting down face to face with Mpho 'M' Nthunya. It was different than reading reference materials on Africa or watching documentaries on National Geographic. This is not second-hand information. This is an actual person giving you information straight from the horse's mouth. Nthunya has lived a life filled with tragic events on top of the everyday struggle that she and her people must live with. To have her actually sitting down telling her story just makes the reader feel it that much more. Now that the style of the book had my attention, I was ready to enjoy the content. This book is extremely entertaining and informative. As Nthunya is telling her life story, she also explains alot of African customs and traditions. I learned more about Africa from this book than I had ever learned in school. Not only did I learn about the customs and traditions, I also became familiar with the overall lifestyle and how hard it is for them to survive. Most of our basic necessities would be luxuries to this woman. For Americans, the dream is basically to be financially successful and be able to afford as many luxuries as one possibly can. For Nthunya and her people, they struggle just to eat and have clothes. To put this in perspective, on page 20 Nthunya explains how they were afraid to eat rice the first time they encountered it. "We didn't know what rice is. We have never seen it before. We think it is maggots....We eat the bread only because we are afraid of the rice....Finally we say 'Oh, ke hantle,OK, we didn't know.' And we eat. We find it tastes all right, but we still feel strange to put these round white things in our mouths." In addition to the struggles of her life, the customs of her culture were also interesting to read about. I especially found the way they approach healthcare interesting. In chapter nine Nthunya and her husbandseek medical help after she has yet another miscarriage. First they visit a Chinese doctor who gives her medicine. They then decide to go to a "traditional" doctor. The "traditional" doctor explains to them that Nthunya's dead grandmother is causing these miscarriages because she is angry. The "traditional" doctor tells her, "So you must go home, Mpho, to your mother's house, and tell your mother that she must take a goat, slit its neck, and remove the gall bladder. Your mother must put the gall bladder in a baisin of water and wash you with her hands and this water from head to toes. And after that the meat of the goat can be eaten by everybody." It surprised me that this was coming from a "traditional" docto

Life Changing Story

I really enjoyed Singing Away the Hunger. Most books I read are moving but they are usually fiction. The main reason this book was so interesting is because it is entirely true. The other reason being the editor is my english teacher. While reading it, you will have to stop and tell yourself, "this really happened to this person!" The stories Nthunya tells are so unbelievable, and show so many of the bad things in human nature, that you are literally shocked. It is very possible that after reading this book your problems will shrink by 99 percent. I do not know you or how your life is, but I am pretty sure that it would be hard to compare anything in our lives to what she had to go through. While you witness her trials and tribulations you are saddened; but you also see an amazing strength in this woman that is so inspiring. How she could go through all of those experiences and still be strong, kind and faithful is beyond me. The book is very simple; it takes no time at all to read, and you will be completely satisfied. As far as books go this one is a good investment. The lessons of hardship learned by Nthunya will become your own. You can not help wanting to help Nthunya and her family who are still living in Africa, and struggling to get by. Do not just check Singing Away The Hunger out, buy it, and every time you feel your life is unbearable, read about Nthunya's. She will open your eyes to what hardships really are and inspire you to find the strength to carry on.