Soft cover, good condition
With the death of her sister Fikile from breast cancer, her father's absence, her mother awakening from years of grief, and her younger brother Mbuso consumed by unresolved anger, Anele Mbuza faces the daunting task of maturing quickly.
Yet, she questions whether she should bear the weight of being her family's caretaker, asserting that her own dreams deserve validity. The Ones with Purpose is a poignant narrative exploring themes of family, disappointment, sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. Set in New Hope township, the story follows the Mabuzas as they grapple with the recent loss of their father and the subsequent terminal illness and death of their eldest daughter, Fikile.
The immediate familymiddle child Anele, the troubled youngest Mbuso, and their mothermust navigate their grief and responsibilities, facing the choice to either rise above their circumstances or succumb to them. Nozizwe Cynthia Jele's storytelling shines through with fluid narration that balances sadness with moments of humor.
The novel delves into complex themes including love, family dynamics, friendship, terminal illness, survival, grief, poverty, teenage pregnancy, and more. Jele masterfully portrays the nuances of Black family life, capturing the essence of relatives, neighbors, and community ties that shape their experiences and funerals. The narrative invites readers to engage actively with its themes, emphasizing the imperfections of family life and the necessity of forgiveness, both of others and oneself.
Exerpt:
I imagined a dying persons last breath as something resembling an exclamation mark, distinct and hanging mid-air like an interrupted thought. My older sister Fikiles last breath before she dies is nothing of the sort. There is no rattling noise at the back of her throat. No relentless twitching. No clinging to life. Fikile dies with no more fuss than a switch of a light bulb.
Nozizwe Cynthia Jele is a South African novelist. Her debut novel, Happiness is a Four-Letter Word (Kwela Books, 2010), has won numerous awards including the 2011 Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Best First Book category (Africa region) and the 2011 M-Net Literary Award in the Film category. The film adaptation was released at the box office countrywide in February 2016. Nozizwe also writes short stories. She supports various initiatives to promote reading amongst young people, including The FunDza Literacy Trust.
