Access Instantly Patchwork Drafted By Ellen Banda-Aaku Accessible Through Digital Copy

picked this up on recommendation from a fellow book club member and I'm pleased that I did, Pumpkin tells her story over two halves one as a child shunted between two lives her alcoholic mother who spends her life waiting for Pumpkin's father's hand in marriage and her rich father and his wife and one as a married mother.
It tells the story of Pumpkin, who is a very unreliable narrator and a bit of a liar, and her experiences growing up, Some things are seen through a child's eyes the fact that her friend's mother has a root that causes miscarriage/abortion, sexual abuse, alcholism, love, the fact that she doesn't like her stepbrothers, for example which I found a bit shocking when filtered through my adult eyes.
Even as an adult Pumpkin is still very childish and a bit of a brat with a very strange twist on relationships, Despite this I actually quite like her, It's a good, short book on a completely different upbringing and culture to my own, Pumpkin has flaws and parts of the book don't quite add up I prefer to think this is because of Pumpkin's perspective as some things are quite simplistic, While she is intelligent and educated she's very immature when it comes to her understanding of relationships and the way the world works, I enjoyed this book and learning more about Pumpkin and her experiences, A quick read which I enjoyed very much, Divided into two parts, the first told from theyear old girl's perspective, the second one as a grown up, the first one for me was the much stronger one.
Her actions and reactions to the situation in which she grew up were understandable and it is also clear that a problematic childhood more often than not still influences adult behaviour, I could not understand the adult "Pumpkin" as much as the child, leaving cultural differences aside.
Still, it was an interesting read, and I recommend it, Wow. I just finished this book and oh my, So many feelings. The last few pages made it all worth it, but oh boy the first part was really hard to get through, But I did it, and I am happy I did so because the second part felt like a reward, Pumpkin going through a childhood full of toxic behaviours, ending up as an adult with a pretty good life and figuring out how to solve her problems, little by little and letting go.
I am glad it had a good ending as retribution for such a hard start, I would definitely recommend reading this, but emotionally prepare yourselves, also available on sitelinkthediasporareader

Did someone say messy protagonist Ive got you one here, Patchwork is the story of Natasha Ponga, who is affectionately nicknamed, Pumpkin, As ayear old in Zambia,, Pumpkin comes of age in two homes, Her mothers who struggles with alcoholism and her fathers as the child he had outside of his marriage, Pumpkin is constantly exposed to areas of life that are way to mature for her, A lot she doesnt properly take in or process considering her lack of understanding,

Its unusual to call ayear old a messy character but time and time again I kept on commenting “this child is something else”, The person she grows into is an exact reflection of the people who raised her and the mistakes made that went uncorrected, More than anything Patchwork is entertaining and at times, intense, I really wouldnt rely on it for lessons on the social ills that surround the characters, but rather a quick and easy read where once you start you HAVE to find out how it will all end.
It wasnt a perfect fave, but Im glad I read it

I loved the way she narrated Zambian terrain and lifestyle and brought the setting to life! I really enjoyed thes backdrop.
I had to sit and ponder over the condition of girls and women in this era and the load heaped on their shoulders, They never receive the apologies, the help or Grace they deserve thats powerful commentary on its own,

Issues the publishers did a disservice in poorly printing this book, It won thePenguin Prize for African Writing, but was virtually impossible to find it outside of a Kindle, More so, I was concerned that a nonAfrican reading it would get lost in the parts of the culture unexplained, It made perfect sense to me, so much of the story was familiar and invited nostalgia, But, I wish the editors had asked her to provide meanings to make it accessible to those who dont know the little things e, g the meaning of “Bana” mother of or what a chitenge is, Overall, a reader can manage through that, Its an easy to start and easy to finish story set in a country that deserves more pop culture narratives

I also would have preferred less passive voice and more active voice.
Less descriptions of what people said and more parts of the story where they actually said it, But I do mean it when I say I found this entertaining, It would make an excellent film Do you ever read a book of fiction, but the details and relationships seem so true to life that you know the book was written from multifaceted experience That you are likely reading about things which the author experienced, endured or suffered.
"Patchwork" constantly gave me that feeling,

The life of nine year old Pumpkin is irreversibly changed by her mother's alcoholism, She is taken away by her wealthy father and raised by an unloving stepmother, From here, we watch Pumpkin grow into a woman, shaped by those early life experiences, The story switches across generations of women, and their stories are all tied together through Pumpkin and her father, Lusaka,. Pumpkin is nine years old, Her fashionable mother is the queen of Tudu Court, but underneath the veneer of respectability that her father's money provides lies a secret that threatens their whole world the tall, elegant Totela Ponga is a drunk.
And when Pumpkin's father the wealthy businessman JS discovers her mother's alcoholism it sets in motion a chain of events that come to define the rest of her life,

Weaving together the stories of three generations of women, this novel is a patchwork of love, jealousy and human frailty set against a backdrop of war and political ambition.
It is a remarkable journey that takes us deep into the heart of a family both fractured and bound together by their love for one man, This is the author's first adult novel, though she has written several short stories and poems for both children and adults, The first part has nineyear old Pumpkin as she is known by everyone as the main character in the second part she is a mother herself, To me the first part works the second not so well, Maybe it is because the misperceptions of a child are easier to accept than those of an adult, Would likely give it around/stars, The subject matter is quite serious, I enjoyed the depth of the narrative/characters, but found that the book was choppy in parts and ended a little abruptly, Overall, I am still glad I read it, though, Beautiful novel, a coming of age story of a girl growing up in a patchwork of broken and recomposed families, struggling with identity and acceptation,
The book is well written, with interesting interwoven story lines, and reads easily, in spite of the painful and hard issues it deals with, Absolutely brilliant first part to this book, Wonderful atmosphere delivered via well rounded characters, confident voice, Reminds of another favorite author, Petipa Gappah and mean that in only the best way, The transition to the second part felt a bit abrupt and the ending a bit rushed, The quality of the writing is outstanding though and the twist in the tail is a good one, Worth reading again and I will be looking out for any other books by this author this was a quick read it could have been longer, i'm used to thick books, i really enjoyed the story and it was one of those books that i found hard to put down, i love reading about other cultures and what makes people tick, i love the name of the book as it clearly comes through in the story,

there were quite a few mistakes in the book, which wasn't cool, but at least i enjoyed the story, not a prize awarding book, but all in all worth reading, Patchwork follows the life of "Pumpkin" first when she was around nine and then in the second part in her earlys, The book describes a childhood that had this girl stranded between the worlds of her rich dad whose illegitimate child she was and her alcoholic mother, The story also covers, how some hurt that happened in the past can have wide reaching impacts in the life of people and their families, I thought the book was easy to read, the narrative just sucked you right in, but it was nevertheless impactful, This book is well written and gives a good picture of life in Zambia across social classes, The story is not an uplifting one, none of the characters are at all likeable and the author doesn't resolve the dilemmas

by the end of the book,
So why did I read it apart from just because I wanted a book from Zambia for my World Tour
Because it really is good, a pageturner, just not one to make you laugh.
It took me one day to read this book because it felt familiar, I understand so much of what thisyear old goes through, You smell the scents, you see the kids playing unophuce in courtyard, You feel the tenderness behind an adult who, not know how to apologise does so through a gift offering, The tension of adult secrets, the naughty inoccents of discussing things you know exist but can't yet understand, It was a heavy book to read, I saw much of my childhood in it, It brought back many memories of my own childhood, .