#BookReview: THE BOOK OF MEMORY by Petina Gappah

Albinism superstitions and discrimination, a civil war, mental health issues, criminality of homosexuality and abandonment issues are all packed into Pettina Gappah's The Book of Memory. She covers a lot of territory in under 300 pages, but it never feels rushed or frenetic. Perhaps it is because her narrator seems to stay calm in the midst of her chaotic life.

Memory, our narrator, is in jail, sentenced to death for the murder of her adoptive father, Lloyd.  From the very beginning the reader is told that Memory did not kill Lloyd. To understand why she's still in jail for a crime she didn't commit, you have to understand what was going on in Zimbabwe at the time.

Because Memory is an albino, assumptions are made about her - that she is cursed, that she can harm children, etc.  As a child, she is shunned by her classmates and taunted daily. Her mother's mental instability means Memory is often on the receiving end of her verbal lashings. While her father does his best to protect Memory and all of the children from their mother, Memory finds herself sold to a white man for reasons she can't fathom.

Lloyd is different from Memory, but it's his difference that allows him to accept her as she is. At first I thought surely he had taken her in for illicit purposes, but he really is a kind man and exposes her to a life she would have never led had she stayed in the village with her family. Highly educated at Lloyd's expense and living outside of Zimbabwe, it's hard to imagine why Memory would return to the country where she faced so much ridicule.

Civil war has ended in Zimbabwe and the country formerly known as Rhodesia has been reclaimed from British colonialism. At a time when whites are being killed in their homes and their lands seized, Memory and Lloyd make for an odd pair. Still, he is the one constant in her life and, at this point, she's been with him longer than she was with her own family. It's only natural then that when she finds him indisposed, she covers for him, keeping his secret while surrendering her freedom.

Memory is the only woman on Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison's death row, an example being made of her. At a time when whites are in fear of their lives, sentencing her to death is meant to send a message to others that actions such as these are not to be tolerated. . Her days are filled with interactions with prostitutes, financial scammers, etc., women who certainly hadn't committed crimes as abhorrent as hers, but who still must be housed somewhere for the long term. Their back stories and day to day lives are quite entertaining.

Flashing back between present day and her past, we finally come to understand the real story of how and why she came to be with Lloyd. You have to wonder if knowing then what she now knows would have changed her life and I really believe it would. Her path was set the moment she believed that her parents sold her.

This wasn't a gripping read. By that I mean it wasn't a book I just couldn't put down. Still, I wanted to know Memory's story and felt compelled to find out what happened next with her. I can see why it's been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

288 p.
Published: February 2016

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound

#BookReview: THE HAIRDRESSER OF HARARE

Five years ago, I mentioned in a post that I'd read about this book on an author's blog and was frustrated that it didn't have a U.S. publisher and wasn't scheduled to be released in the states. The author of the book saw my comment and reached out to me with an offer to send me a copy. It arrived and, let me tell you, I read it from start to finish in a little under two hours and loved it! My only regret was that because it didn't have a U.S. publisher, my fellow readers weren't able to enjoy it as much as I did. Imagine my surprise while reading publisher's catalog when I found out that it had finally found a publishing home in the U.S. With that, allow me to introduce you to The Hairdresser of Harare. I know you're going to love it as much as I do.

The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu is the story of what can happen when you refuse to see what's right in front of you. Vimbai is a single mother raising a child that's the result of an affair with a married man. Working in Mrs. Khumalo's salon, she's the best hairdresser in Harare. All of that changes the day Dumisani appears.

Though male hairdressers are unheard of in Harare, Dumi's charming ways with both Mrs. Khumalo and the customers immediately makes him the star of the salon. Feeling put off by this, Vimbai avoids him. However, the need for extra income prompts her to offer him a room in her house when she learns that he has no place to stay.

Both are cut off from their families, though for different reasons, and, as a result, become quite close. Dumi sends confusing messages to Vimbai when he invites her to attend a family wedding with him. His family is immediately drawn to her and embraces both her and her daughter. I really feel that Vimbai and Dumi use each other to legitimize themselves to others.

Earlier when I talked about not seeing what's in front of you, I was referring to Vimbai's refusal to acknowledge that perhaps there was something Dumi was hiding. As a reader going in knowing the back story, it was obvious by what the family was saying that there was something about Dumisani that he hadn't shared with Vimbai. However, I think even without knowing what the family was referring to or why, had she been paying attention, there were plenty of hints and signs for Vimbai to see.

When Vimbai is finally confronted with the truth, her reaction is such that she outs Dumi to those that intend to do him harm. Ultimately, he must leave Harare and Zimbabwe altogether. It's not until she realizes that she will lose every aspect of him that Vimbai truly grasps the consequences of her actions.

I loved the author's use of words and their flow. He does a wonderful job of describing not only the characters, but their surroundings. This is a must read!

200 p.
Published: August 2015 (U.S.)

#BookReview: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

I'm really not sure where to begin with this book.  It's been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, so I don't know what it means that I didn't like it when so many others thought so highly of it.  The writing felt disjointed, as did the timeline.  I've seen some people refer to it as a book of short stories and, perhaps, that's where the disjointed feel comes from. I went into it thinking it was just a novel.

We Need New Names opens with Darling and her friends venturing to a nicer part of town to steal guavas.  Once the children of parents that lived in nice houses with food on the table, they've been reduced to being vagabonds.  These are children that have seen more than they really should have at such a young age.  While the others seem to be hopeless, Darling has an aunt in America that she looks forward to visiting.  In her mind, America is the promised land and by going there, she'll once again have decent food and shelter.

Darling's time in Zimbabwe is much more colorful and interesting than her time in America.  It's hard to tell if her sullen moods are because she dislikes the world she found or because she's a typical teenager.  At any rate, America is not the promised land that she thought it was, and she seems to be stuck in limbo, romanticizing her life in Zimbabwe and wishing that she could return to it.

I have no way of knowing if Bulawayo wrote We Need New Names with the idea that people around the world would read it.  It could be that she thought anyone picking up the book would be familiar with the history of Zimbabwe.  And though I was familiar enough to know why Darling and her friend's families had lost their homes and jobs, it would have been helpful for the author to go into just a little detail about it.  The average reader may not have known why that was the case.

304pp
Published: May 2013

#BookReview: Zenzele: A Letter for my Daughter - J. Nozipo Maraire #BP2W (Zimbabwe)

"When independence came, we celebrated with tears in our eyes.  We would continue the struggle to ensure that our children received every opportunity of Western privilege...There was nothing that our children asked for that we denied them.  We who had grown up knowing only deprivation, austerity and hard labor.  We wanted only the best for them.  We even sent them to the best private schools with plenty of whites... But it was all in vain.  They have neither respect nor gratitude....these modern children are culturally bleached."

As Zenzele announces her intentions to leave Harare, Zimbabwe for the halls of Harvard, her mother reflects on life lessons that her daughter must know before she leaves for the states.  As the eldest of five children raised by a widowed mother, Zenzele's mother, Shiri, never had the privilege of thinking about global warming or worrying about the starving in Ethiopia.  After all, Zenzele has grown up in Zimbabwe, not Rhodesia, as her mother had.  Shiri is impressed and in awe of this daughter that protests inhumane treatment of others and petitions foreign governments.

Through the letter her mother writes to her, readers are treated to a history of Rhodesia and the fight for independence that resulted in Zimbabwe.  Interesting to note is Shiri's lament that what was envisioned as successful post-colonial life was rooted mostly in material success.  In the rush to claim what colonialists had, the new Zimbabwe adapted the British culture and began to reject their own.

As the children of Zimbabwe go abroad to study, there's the fear that they won't return, as one of Shiri's cousins did, and if they do return, they will have completely forgotten their roots and culture.  The hope is always that they go out in the world and absorb what they can from other cultures and bring it back to their country and continent.  Though she's proud of her, Zenzele's leaving is Shiri's biggest dream and potential nightmare.

I loved this book because even though it was a history lesson, it didn't feel like one.  So many of the lessons that Shiri passes on to Zenzele, and so many of the experiences she speaks about, are similar to those that all mothers pass on their daughters.  Others are lessons that I recognize as those passed on to me, that seem race-specific as an African-American, that I've also passed on to my daughter.  Things such as how to react when you're mistaken for a store clerk when you're obviously not dressed in the store uniform or being talked down to because the assumption is that your skin color means you're intellectually inferior..

There are so many lovely features that shall make you conspicuous among the flock.  One of these is your color.  In our country, you are accustomed to every shade from caramel to charcoal.  Overseas, they do not have an eye for our rainbow.  To them, we are all one burdensome color: black...Let no one define you or your country.

I could go on and on about all of the great nuggets of wisdom that Shiri imparts on Zenzele, but I'm really hoping you'll pick this up and give it a read for yourself.  I can promise you that you won't be disappointed.  And as Bill Cosby used to say on Fat Albert, "You just might learn something."

208pp
Published: April 1997

The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert Mugabe, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. - CIA World Factbook

Location: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
Size: 390,757 sq km, slightly larger than Montana
Population: 12,619,600
Ethnic groups: African 98% (Shona, 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%
Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele, numerous but other minor tribal dialects

Theme: Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe