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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Was this book better because I was traveling in Zambia while I was reading it? Or is it just an interesting, well-written memoir? I might never know, but it was revelatory and intriguing and thought provoking. I don't know much about the effects of colonialism, fighting for independence and political corruption in Africa, but Godwin's story gives a glimpse into this other world.
This book wasn't exactly like I expected. I thought it would tell the story of the authors childhood in Africa but then I realised that was the subject of his earlier book and I should have read that one first. As a standalone, this novel was engaging but some of the political descriptions about what was happening I didn't really understand because I knew nothing about Africa, let alone Zimbabwe.
Aside from that, learning about his parents and the sad way in which they had to live out their latter years was heartbreaking. Inflation had decimated their savings and made their shares and his fathers life insurance policy useless. It was a pretty bleak portrait Godwin painted of Zimbabwe in the early naughties, and I felt so bad for his parents.
His fathers Jewish background and story was so fascinating, I found it so sad how he felt like he had to constantly hide his roots as a Polish Jew because he wanted to protect his family in case the holocaust happened again - he believed that extreme anti-semitism would come back around.
Great book, I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the authors earlier book first though I think.
Aside from that, learning about his parents and the sad way in which they had to live out their latter years was heartbreaking. Inflation had decimated their savings and made their shares and his fathers life insurance policy useless. It was a pretty bleak portrait Godwin painted of Zimbabwe in the early naughties, and I felt so bad for his parents.
His fathers Jewish background and story was so fascinating, I found it so sad how he felt like he had to constantly hide his roots as a Polish Jew because he wanted to protect his family in case the holocaust happened again - he believed that extreme anti-semitism would come back around.
Great book, I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the authors earlier book first though I think.
This is a descriptive account of the deterioration of Zimbabwe under the Mugabe dictatorship as told by a journalist. The history is well documented and I enjoyed the references to South Africa (especially Bridal Veil Falls) but I just didn't find this book very easy to get through.
I started out enjoying this memoir of a white guy that is from Zimbabwe, now lives in new York, but goes back frequently to visit his parents, taking place from 1998-2004. In 2000 Mugabe planned to eradicate Zimbabwe of all whites, ripping their farms, homes and livelihood from them. The book is about this. Amazing how unaware we are to the tragedies of others in our world! It was good to learn about Mugabe and life in Zimbabwe. But then. The book started to turn towards a biography almost of his parents. They chose to stay and deal with the harsh opposition. I got a little bored hearing the many conversations between him and his parents. I wish there had been more political information towards the end instead of his personal family story. Overall, decent.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
A great memoir from Peter Godwin. Currently a journalist, in his memoir he reflects on his and his family's life as white Zimbabweans, and the changes that the country faced under Mugabe's reign. He also discovers a famiy secret. A good read!
A tough, emotional read, but well worth it! I learned so much about Zimbabwe. The best discussion our book club has ever had was about this book.