Harare North

by Brian Chikwava

Overview

When he lands in Harare North, our unnamed protagonist carries nothing but a cardboard suitcase full of memories and a longing to be reunited with his childhood friend, Shingi.

He ends up in Shingi's Brixton squat where the inhabitants function at various levels of desperation. Shingi struggles to find meaningful work and to meet the demands of his family back home; Tsitsi makes a living renting her baby out to women defrauding the Social Services.

As our narrator struggles to make his way in 'Harare North', negotiating life outside the legal economy and battling with the weight of what he has left behind in strife-torn Zimbabwe, every expectation and preconception is turned on its head.

This is the story of a stranger in a strange land - one of the thousands of illegal immigrants seeking a better life in England - with a past he is determined to hide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409076452
Publisher:	Random House
Publication date:	04/02/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	306 KB

About the Author

Brian Chikwava is among the exciting new generation of writers emerging from the African continent. His short story Seventh Street Alchemy was awarded the 2004 Caine Prize for African Writing. He has been a Charles Pick fellow at the University of East Anglia, and lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

"The darkest of comedies, fueled by an electric, wholly convincing voice."  —Observer

"An hilarious and wrenching examination of immigrant life . . . from a prodigiously talented and uncompromising writer."  —Ali Smith, author, The Accidental

"Chikwava has created an utterly compelling anti-hero . . . mesmerizing."  —Guardian

"A perfectly original and true narrative voice . . . Full of surprises, delicious little tics, and real fire-in-the-belly creativity . . . but importantly, the voice comes off as effortless, and therefore true . . . it’s a major accomplishment."  —Tod Wodicka, author, All Shall Be Well

EBOOK COMMENTARY

"The darkest of comedies, fueled by an electric, wholly convincing voice." —Observer

"An hilarious and wrenching examination of immigrant life . . . from a prodigiously talented and uncompromising writer." —Ali Smith, author, The Accidental

"Chikwava has created an utterly compelling anti-hero . . . mesmerizing." —Guardian



"A perfectly original and true narrative voice . . . Full of surprises, delicious little tics, and real fire-in-the-belly creativity . . . but importantly, the voice comes off as effortless, and therefore true . . . it’s a major accomplishment." —Tod Wodicka, author, All Shall Be Well

From the Publisher