The controversial topic of botched traditional circumcision has been very much in the news of late. This powerful first novel, A Man Who is Not a Man, recounts the personal trauma of a young Xhosa initiate after one such circumcision gone wrong.
With frankness and courage, new author Thando Mgqolozana 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.
About the author
Thando Mgqolozana hails from Whittlesea near East London. He has a nursing degree from UWC, where he was selected as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar to do his Masters. He has worked as a data analyst for the Western Cape Social Development department and as a junior researcher for the HSRC in Cape Town. A Man Who Is Not A Man is his first published novel.
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