Harvest of Thorns (African Writers Series) [Paperback]

Shimmer Chinodya (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1991 | Series: African Writers Series

A time of turbulence and turmoil is illustrated through the coming of age of Benjamin Tichafa, a young man torn between two worlds, between two sets of beliefs, between old and new.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The revolution that ended white minority rule in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) is seen here chiefly through the eyes of Benjamin Tichafa, a young guerrilla. He is the son of a devoutly religious couple, his father a government messenger completely subservient to his white superiors. Enraged by the treatment of blacks, a teenage Benjamin turns from his parents' apolitical religion. After being arrested in a demonstration, he joins the revolution. The novel is enriched by the viewpoints of black Rhodesians who, out of fear or for economic reasons, do not fully support the struggle. The slaying of a dictatorial white farm owner dismays his foreman, whose livelihood is now threatened. The fatal beating of a woman who reluctantly informed on the guerrillas raises misgivings in Benjamin's outfit. Though ultimately portraying the victory as worthwhile, Chinodya also shows the price paid in lives, tattered families and lost traditions. The result is a humane and penetrating look at a brutal government and a bloody revolution. This is the first of the Zimbabwean author's works to be published here.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Zimbabwe has fine black writers and Shimmer Chinodya is one of the best. Harvest of Thorns brilliantly pictures the transition between the old white dominated Southern Rhodesia, through the Bush War, to the new black regime. It is a brave book, a good strong story, and it is often very funny. People who know the country will salute its honesty, but I hope newcomers to African writing will give this book a try. They won't be disappointed.”–Doris Lessing

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann (January 11, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0435905821
• ISBN-13: 978-0435905828
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #965,631 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 True Harvest of Thorns, March 31, 2008

By 

Peter Dykhuis (Grandville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harvest of Thorns (African Writers Series) (Paperback)

In Shimmer Chinodya's `Harvest of Thorns' we are shown the glories of revolution along with the darkest costs in them. We are torn in thinking that perhaps the cost is too dire and severe. We are shown the inadequacies of humanity. Yet after all this we are given to understand that the cost is probably worth it at the end of the day. Most of all this book is a book about colonialism. The horrors and errors that this system of societal proselytizing created.

The novel does not make any great effort to make judgments on its own. The characters are all flawed and no clear good or evil exist. In many ways all the players are neither good or bad. What is clearly evil is the system in which they exist. The colonial backdrop can be easily used to trace the root cause for the worst of the evils shown to us in the novel. Even this is not stated in so many words in the novel. The novel works far harder at showing us the story and allowing us to make a judgment. I am sure the author is confident what our determination will be but yet he allows us to come to this realization on our own.

The most interesting paradox in the book is how the realities of colonialism exist even in the guise of freedom. One would think that Colonialist ills would be primarily acted out against the native African population by the non-native Caucasians. This is not necessarily the truth. Although whites do not come across as good or benevolent they come across as more disinterested individuals more concerned about power then about involvement. The Africans who are in power and those who rebel against them act out this same action but without the disinterested separation. Their conflicts are personal and often lack any moral compass rather then an ingrained conditioning by the environment that they are an unwitting participant in.

The institutions and traditions introduced by colonialism inherently resist change regardless of the desire of a majority to move onto something else.
This is the last question. Even if change is desired and even if the most overt aspects of colonialism are cast down and reviled what change do we move to. With oral histories forgotten, fragmented or distorted and previous institutions long lost and forgotten what form of social order can arise. Unfortunately this is the natural breeding ground for dictatorships and Zimbabwe was no different. Although not detailed in this novel if a natural order is forgotten and only power or its vacuum remains rest assured someone will step into fill that vacuum? Someone always does and Zimbabwe was no different. If takes decades if ever to recover a social norm after a century of colonialist existence. The scars will never go away.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rebirth of a nation and self during Zimbabwe's independenc, July 27, 1999

By 

Josh Rosenfeld ([e-mail]) (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harvest of thorns (Paperback)

One of the greatest struggles anyone goes through, is simply to figure out who they are. There is nothing simple about this process, weighing past experience, where you come from, and your family. Shimmer Chinodya identifies the growth of oneself in a more hostile environment, the liberation wars of Zimbabwe in the late 1970's. The main character Benjamin revolts against his families' norms, of living a content quiet life, collobrating with the oppresive system of Rhodesian Apartheid. Benjamin looks to find himself, leaves his school and joins the Zimbabwean liberation armies. The book serves as Benjamins recollection of his identity, his experience in the bush fighting, his personal relationship developed during the struggle, the family he has abandoned, and the oppression he fights. Wrapped into Benjamin's identity is the story of his parents, moving to Harare, their hardships with their new life, their adoption of Christianity, their worries over their son. Benjamin survives to see a free Zimbabwe, but now finds his world and identity unresolved. He is a husband, a father, a soldier, a philospher, and a forgotten hero. Benjamin returns home to juggle his new life and forge a better future for his infant country. Harvest of Thorns story is not only endearing, but accurate and informative. This story fits well into the historical context of the plot, accurately describing the struggle of Zimbabwe's independence, colonialism in Zimbabwe, and the forgotten hero's of the independence movement. The reader must dig deep into their own experience to find themselves at the end of the novel and wonder who or what has made them the person they are today. For this credit, it is clear Shimmer Chinodya's self-reflection into his native country have created a magnificent story.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-told Tale of the Bush War, July 25, 2005

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harvest of Thorns (African Writers Series) (Paperback)

Divided into four parts, this prize-winning novel provides a glimpse of the guerrilla war fought against the apartheid rule of Ian Smith following Rhodesia's split from Britain in 1965. It's not very clear why the book is broken into four parts, or why they fall out of chronological sequence (indeed, I am inclined to suggest reading them in the following order: Part 2, 3, 1, 4). Chronologically, the story starts with a young rural girl in the 1950s who is ardently wooed by a polite and dapper young man who serves tea at a colonial district office. The seventy pages of Part 2 tells of their marriage, move to township housing, religious conversion, and raising of three children. By the end of this section, it is the mid-'70s and their teenage son Benjamin is chaffing at their strict rules, and along with everyone else his age, protesting against the oppressive racist government. Here, the author is clearly drawing upon his own experiences, as some of Benjamin's encounters mirror that of the author. The details of township life and daily life under white rule, are all well-handled and quite interesting.

Part 2 is the longest (130 pages) and details Benjamin's flight to join rebels hiding out in the border countryside, training, and several years of soldiering with a small squad in the bush. The physical and moral hardships of the guerilla life are given vivid detail here, as Benjamin's squad spends a great deal of time waiting around, with brief bursts of activity, including political education of villagers, ambushes of army troops, fleeting encounters with women, and brutal retribution against informers. In a sense, the events and mood are no different from portrayals of any other bloody guerilla war of liberation, but it's well done and well worth reading by anyone with an interest in Zimbabwe's Bush War.

Parts 1 and 4 take place after the war has been won, as Benjamin returns home after several years away. Although he's now a citizen of a free Zimbabwe, he finds that has little practical meaning, as he can't find a job, and has to fight all kinds of administrative red tape concerning his service in the liberation forces. He a freedom fighting hero who not only never gets a hero's welcome or laurels, but also now must live with the things he's seen and done. Further compounding the tragedy is the depressing reality of what has befallen the country since independence under the corrupt Mugabe regime. After strong-arming his way into power, he and his cronies have been lining their own pockets for years while abstaining from any true effort to rebuild their country--disgracing the sacrifices of people like Benjamin.