SuitabookThe Colours That Blind
Rutendo Tavengerwei
- Reading
- A brief conversation before reading could acknowledge that the story includes prejudice, fear and war-related suffering. During reading, keep track of whose story is being told and when, perhaps noting Tumi’s present alongside his grandmother’s past.
- Themes
- Acceptance and albinism: Tumi seeks acceptance at school and hopes success in swimming will help others see him beyond his albinism; he is also described as mistrusted. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Family memory and forgiveness: Tumi stays with his grandmother while frightening memories return; she shares a tragic account of her own past through conversation and diary excerpts. The two perspectives invite reflection on inherited pain, responsibility and possible forgiveness, but the moral resolution is not established.
- Personal lives within historical conflict: The present-day story is set in Zimbabwe, while the grandmother recalls growing up amid hatred in war-torn Rhodesia. Historical conflict is used as part of the grandmother’s personal history and the wider context for her suffering.
- Worth knowing
- The book deserves attention for prejudice connected with albinism, frightening past events, war-related hatred, a reported threat or attempt of kidnapping, guilt and emotionally painful memories. The intensity and resolution of these elements are not fully clear.