Capable-Catch4433

Capable-Catch4433 OP t1_j6gl4np wrote

I just read a comment on Goodreads from a Batswana woman who has studied his work as part of her MA thesis in the University of Botswana. She said that there are significant gaps in how he represented the culture and his books shouldn’t be taken or sold as a representation of Batswana culture. The characters are also seem to be based on colonial stereotypes. I’d love to hear more from Batswana people as these books are about them and they’d be in a better position to say if they are accurate representations of the culture. The stories are cute, and I get that he grew up in that culture and know more about it than a regular English bloke. But I think it can be problematic that the stories are told from the perspective of Batswana women, which can send the message that that’s how real Batswana women think or perceive things.

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Capable-Catch4433 OP t1_j6d0e1h wrote

Me too. I’m a bit horrified thinking about how most of my perspective of the country is from a white man, belonging to a culture that colonized the culture he’s writing about. 😬 I guess it’s part of our responsibility as readers to explore more and read literature by Batswana.

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