Questions, hope, and determination in Nomzamo Dube's Milk, Bile and Honey by Nkosiyazi Kan Kanjiri
--Nkosiyazi Kan Kanjiri When the war ends, Nomzamo Dube’s protagonist becomes a fugitive and begins a war of destiny. A simultaneous war that involves running away from the freedom he fought for on one hand, and facing his unresolved past on the other. He is still that man born out of wedlock, now on a quest to know his father. But there is another thing, he makes a girl pregnant and denies responsibility. A lot happens in a country learning how to be free. Equally, a lot happens to a boy turned into a man by war, for he now must learn to be a father by himself. These are the circumstances that shape the protagonist’s character in Nomzamo Dube's debut novel, Milk, Bile and Honey. The issues explored are gripping, but how the story begins is even more compelling, "How could a mother carry a child for 9 months and not in the process think about a list of names to pick from?" Anyone who has ever attempted to write a book will conf...