Harare North, by Brian Chikwava
Harare North by Brian Chikwava, 240pp, Jonathan Cape, £12.99
Debut novelist Brian Chikwava has an approach to the complex issues around Zimbabwe that is grittier, nuanced, and ultimately more honest and brave than many writers tackling the subject of political exile. Through his characters he offers an engaging and sobering insight into both life in London (the Harare North of the title) and life in Zimbabwe.
The young man at centre of the story could be any one of the thousands of illegal migrants fleeing a dangerous Zimbabwe, but through him, Chikwava turns the stereotypes of Zimbabweans (or any African for that matter) in exile in the west on its head. He is a complex mix of hard-headed manipulator, and animal-like survivalist; yet he has an endearing side of vulnerable naivety, compassion, ignorance and self-reflection.
This very dark, funny, and ultimately tragic story, is an unusual take on what it is like to be in exile. It is written in pigdin English from the perspective of a young migrant fleeing his homeland for an unusual reason, to escape the (possibly fatal) wrath of a commander of the Green Bombers: A pro-Mugabe youth movement to which this young man belonged. He is unsympathetic about oppositional politics in Zimbabwe …Me I don’t have no sympathy for Zimbabwean people … because they have spent lots of time throwing they tails all over and trying to vote for opposition party. Now look where this have landed them. … and yet at the same time he is groping for answers about his homeland almost as desperately as he scratches for jobs and food in an entirely hostile new environment. The language is unusual, colourful and full of beautiful lyrical phrases …the past always tower over you like a mother of children of darkness … and if you hail from that continent, you will recognise its deep ‘africanness’ at once. Brian Chikwava, who is also a Caine Prize winner, is certainly a writer to watch if this carefully crafted, highly recommended book is anything to go by.
