Mbo Releases 13th Novel
Maureen Odubeng | Monday December 21, 2020 15:26
The book was published in October, roughly three months after publishing yet another novel, 'The Stolen Documents', which came out in August of this year.
Mbo, in a brief interview with The Monitor, said he wrote his latest offing in a space of three weeks, during the lockdown period.
'The Shebeen Prophets' is a story about three men namely Prophet Day-Day, Prophet Wire-Lapeng and Prophet Billy-Mangenje, who all failed and discontinued studies at the University of Botswana. Together with Mama Kea, a former biology teacher, who now runs a shebeen, they call themselves The Truth Speaks. They spend most of their time at Mama Kea’s shebeen, under what they call the Tree of Knowledge. They are not there to drink alcohol, but to read together, share knowledge and their thoughts with each other. They want to ultimately see the whole of Pilikwe village embracing knowledge. They hear of a coquettish con artist named Girlie, who is rumoured to be causing woes in nearby Palapye village. Prophet Day-Day opts to go and find her, with the intent to bring her to the Tree of Knowledge so The Truth Speaks can introduce her to knowledge, and therefore get to understand the need for the truth, so as she could ultimately see wrong in her ways. With that she can then hand herself in for justice to be served, as an already reformed woman. But Girlie is unreliable and difficult. Within four days of finding her, Girlie gets arrested and is sent to prison to await trial. But Prophet Day-Day and team are still resolute on reforming her. Prophet Day-Day feels there might be a different side to her story; that there may be reasons beyond her control that are driving her to con people. The quartet visits her a few times at the prison, but she persistently denies knowing Prophet Day-Day, albeit leading up to her arrest she had been living at his house. Despite that, they do not give up. That is because Prophet Day-Day, the team leader, is developing amorous feelings for her. She attempts suicide while in prison and ends up in Palapye Hospital’s ICU. After the men who purport to be law enforcement officers come to his house looking for Girlie, Prophet Day-Day is unable to control his thoughts. What baffles Prophet Day-Day is that they do not know that Girlie is in prison yet they claim to be law enforcers. Prophet Day-Day finds himself questioning The Truth Speaks’ ideology, thus turning against his own beliefs and hiding in a motel, alone, depressed and unwilling to communicate with his team members. Now he must find a way out of his conundrum…
The book is recommended for mature readers. Though it is fiction, it touches on various areas of life, mainly centring on how our own minds can make or break us. The book illustrates the importance of general knowledge and the part it plays in making us who we are. This is done through the fictional story referred to above. The story is about how to dictate to our subconscious minds who we want to be. It talks about the importance of sifting out unwanted thoughts; about how the thoughts we harbour can either make or break us. Therefore, the book caries constructive and subliminal messages. The book further illustrates how our daily thoughts determine how we lead our lives on a daily basis and vice versa, and unless the vicious cycle is broken, nothing will ever change because we will always see things the same way, and thus live in a box. The protagonist suggests that choosing what to keep in our minds from all that we see and learn about every day is the road to knowing and understanding ourselves. And that the only way to do so is by looking outside the box and learning about that which we do not normally learn about. The protagonist decries how weak and suggestible our minds are, hence can easily be swayed from their usual course; from the usual mindset, just because a mere thought was sowed when it should not have been, only to sprout and change the course of one's life in an instant, hence the importance of choosing carefully thoughts we sow in our minds. Some parts of the book are written in parables, hence can be interpreted in various ways, but The Truth Speaks’ main message remains clear: our lives are in our minds because how we think shapes our own lives, and the only way we can determine how we want to live is by indulging in general knowledge, so we can know in advance where what we choose to sow in our minds will lead us. The protagonist also talks about the importance of having goals and a daily routine, for The Truth Speaks believes this to give a purpose to life. The protagonist also talks about the importance of solidarity and openness, rather than be misled into further woes by pride. The protagonist goes on to illustrate the importance of putting oneself in other people's shoes and understanding where they are coming before judging. He goes on to illustrate the importance of looking at both sides of the coin and giving others the benefit of the doubt rather than judging them based on their past deeds. The protagonist appreciates the importance of accepting everyone the way they are, and helping them if you notice any behavioural anomaly on their part that might lead their livelihoods to doom. And of how one can still make use of themselves for the benefit of others despite having failed in their own course.
The book is available on Amazon and other major online bookstores. The book is also available at Exclusive Books.
About The Author
Nsununguli was born and raised in Mbalambi village in the north eastern part of Botswana. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics from University College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and a Diploma in Clinical Psychiatry from Royal College of Physicians/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He writes on a part-time basis.