BookBrowse Reviews Before the Mango Ripens by Afabwaje Kurian

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Tensions flare between American missionaries and local residents in 1970s Nigeria.

Set in 1971, this work of historical fiction begins in the aftermath of an apparent miracle that has begun to send shockwaves through the lives of the residents of Rabata, Nigeria. A man named Zanya says he was tied up and set on fire by relatives who did not approve of his Christian faith, and yet survived the blaze with no visible marks. The mystery of whether the miracle occurred is an interesting one, but even more intriguing are the interpersonal repercussions of the story.

Zanya works at the missionary compound as a sort of assistant to the white American pastor, doing odd jobs like leading construction crews and translating sermons. He hopes the miracle will be the catalyst for a promotion to a junior pastoral role, which would put him in a better position to ask his girlfriend's family for her hand in marriage. Zanya is confident that he is ready to step into the role of a spiritual leader.

Reverend Jim, the missionary who pastors the church, is suspicious of Zanya's apparent feat, and sets out to investigate whether the miracle actually occurred. It soon becomes clear that this skepticism stems less from a desire to do his due diligence and more from a fear that this local man he mentored may usurp his role. We learn that Jim came to Nigeria in the wake of a damaged reputation back home, and craves the respectability he has lost.

The story of how Zanya and Jim first met is symbolic of their relationship throughout much of the book. As a new missionary in Nigeria, Jim's car broke down, and a group of bandits robbed and beat him. Zanya came across the heavily wounded pastor and carried him on his back to the home of a healer. As Zanya's story draws crowds to the church while he takes on the jobs no one else wants, it seems he is still carrying the pastor on his back. There are clear parallels to the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, in which a person looked down on by society is the only one to stop and help a man who's been left robbed and beaten. In many interpretations, it's a call to recognize people by their actions, not their social status. Yet Jim appears to miss the message of this parable, instead feeling ashamed that Zanya saw him in such a vulnerable state. Jim wants to see himself as a leader of the Nigerian people he preaches to, not someone dependent on them. At the heart of the polite conflict between the two is a deeper tension happening in contemporary Nigerian society: is it time for Western missionaries to step back and let locals lead the institutions they've built?

Before the Mango Ripens depicts the missionaries as flawed and paternalistic, and yet it gives such a powerful glimpse into their inner thoughts that one can't see them as anything other than fully human, and even somewhat sympathetic. Another of the Americans, Katherine, is a nurse at the local clinic who came to Nigeria at her missionary husband's urging. She could be an easily hateable character in a different author's hands. Katherine loathes living in Rabata, and her disdain for the town and its residents is palpable. A Nigerian doctor is Katherine's boss at the clinic, but Katherine tends to treat her as a peer, and occasionally as a subordinate. And yet readers are given such insight into Katherine's inner world that she becomes, while still not likeable, at least pitiable. We see her fierce love for her children, including her young son, who tries but doesn't quite manage to fit in with the local kids. We also see the ways in which she lacks control over her life. It's Katherine's husband, not her, who has the final say over where they live. In some ways, Katherine benefits from the system she is in, and yet as a woman in the 1970s, she lacks the tools to determine her own destiny. Instead of a heartless oppressor, she can be seen as an unhappy woman grasping at the limited amount of societal power available to her.

This nuanced portrayal of the missionaries points to flaws in the system that gives them so much power over the Rabata residents. They are not evil overlords, but rather people who think they are doing good and yet are ill-equipped for the leadership positions they've been handed. Jim, who left his U.S. congregation in disgrace, should arguably not be in a position of spiritual leadership over a whole community, and the fact that he is simultaneously feeds his arrogance and insecurities.

Similarly, while many of the Nigerian characters are depicted as smart and courageous, the author doesn't hesitate to give them flaws. Zanya is a born leader with an authentic faith and a love for his people — and yet he cheats on his girlfriend, sometimes puts his own interests above the common good, and finds it difficult to stand up to the reverend even when that's the right thing to do. The man who carried the reverend on his back is neither a meek follower nor a perfect revolutionary figure, but a person who acts with a mix of altruistic and self-serving motives.

Before the Mango Ripens is an ultimately hopeful story about people pushing back against colonialism. It points to the ways in which oppressive systems are harmful to everyone, and might leave readers interrogating their own roles in these systems.

This review first ran in the November 20, 2024 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.