Summary

The first chapter, written in the form of a letter, opens with an address to a young woman named Zenzele. The letter-writer is sipping on tea and reflecting on the winter dawn, which she describes as “a time of death, of loss, of flight” (1). The letter-writer remembers the day when her daughter, Zenzele, to whom the letter is addressed, announced her plans to attend an American university. She writes of how her daughter marvels at all the academic subjects, libraries and museums mentioned in the red college prospectus, which she totes around “like a new Bible” (2).

The letter-writer marvels at her daughter, whom she says is the “only one who has created” (3) herself. She also reflects on the differences between their two lives. While the letter-writer spent her childhood carefully calculating school fees and trying to save for “birthdays and Sunday dresses” (3), her daughter...