A review by melanie_page
The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu

dark informative sad fast-paced

4.0

Perhaps it is because I am an American person reading a book set in and by a Zimbabwean author, but I found the "secret" of Dumi to be obvious. At every little turn the author gives us something undeniable, but the main character Vimbai, doesn't see it until the last twenty pages or so, and that's when she reads Dumi's confession written in his own hand. The end of the book was quite speedy, but again, that may be differences in culture and thus writing styles. However, I felt like the author taught me about the economy of Zimbabwe without giving a lecture on the subject. The fact that Vimbai is given a loan that will mean nothing in two years because the value of money changes constantly, the way cars are on the street or not based on gas production, how sugar is only purchased when you have a network of people giving you clues (like it's a band doing a one-time pop-up show), and that there is 90% unemployment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Violence

Zimbabwe is a country in which you can be killed for being gay, and an attempt is made on one character, though it is not graphic.