Harare North [Import] [Hardcover]

Brian Chikwava (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2009

Caine Prize winner Brian Chikwava tackles the realities of life in London for Africa’s dispossessed in this fearlessly political and very funny story of an illegal Zimbabwean immigrant seeking a better life in England — with a past he is determined to hide.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The unnamed narrator of Chikwava’s alternately funny and appalling novel is an émigré who arrives in London with little more than a cardboard suitcase. He’s on the run from trouble back in his native country of Zimbabwe, where he ran into difficulties as a member of President Robert Mugabe’s Green Bombers youth militia, who meted out violent punishment to those perceived to be enemies of the state. He finds his old schoolmate Shingi living in a squalid flat in Brixton along with other hapless émigrés, including Tsitsi, who makes a living renting her baby to women out to scam social services. Worry about being taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers and of being deported by immigration services alternates with the desperation of running out of food and money. And yet, the book is often darkly comic as the narrator, employing a vivid vernacular style, struggles to parse the strange ways of Londoners. This striking debut novel offers a wholly distinctive voice and an up-close view of the plight of illegal immigrants. --Joanne Wilkinson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"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

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224086111
• ISBN-13: 978-0224086110
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.9 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,362,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A just above average book, August 20, 2009

By 

Rami H. Rajeh "Meeps" (Beirut, Lebanon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harare North (Hardcover)

This book is well written and the fact that it is written in a Zimbabwe accent makes it even more of a pleasure to read. The picture the author paints is very telling and it reflects on an unnoticed facet to life in London. However, overall, it is not a great book and the ending is rather dry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent dark comedy about illegal immigrants in London, August 9, 2009

By 

Darryl R. Morris "Kidzdoc" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harare North (Hardcover)

The unnamed narrator of this debut novel emigrates to London, or Harare North, from Zimbabwe, where he served as one of President Mugabe's Green Bombers, the youth attack squads that terrorized the regime's opponents. He needs US$5000 to buy back his freedom from local officials, after he is caught beating up an opposition party official.

Upon his arrival in London, he is granted temporary asylum, but does not have working papers. After staying with a cousin and his wife, he moves in with a childhood friend living in an abandoned house in Brixton, along with several other countrymen trying to make it. He eventually obtains work in the underground industry, where the best paying jobs are held by BBCs, or British Buttock Cleaners, who look after "old people that poo their pants every hour". The daily internal and external stressors on the narrator and his housemates take a large toll on their physical and mental health, and each one is ultimately left to rely on himself to survive and to avoid a descent into crime or madness.

[Harare North] is a dark comedy that becomes a suffocating and dizzying ride that the reader takes along with the narrator, which gives an instructive glimpse into the lives of illegal immigrants living under the radar of the average city resident, whether in London or any other international city.

1.0 out of 5 stars Do Not Bother, June 26, 2011

By 

JSmalls - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harare North (Paperback)

Sorry, but just because a book emanates from a unique subaltern perspective does not make it worth reading. The plot was meandering and pointless while the writing was, at times, so bad that it was hard to concentrate. The book is not worth reading let along buying.