Petina GappahRezensionen

These dark little stories, often comic, are set around Rotten Row, Zimbabwe's Criminal Division, and centre on the people who work there, and those who for good reasons and bad pass through. There was much to enjoy. Clever characterisations, clever changes of voice ('From a Town Called Enkeldoorn' is entirely written as comments on a web forum, for instance), and above all, the introduction to each story with a quote from the Bible, written in Shona (I love 'Buku yaMuprofita Jeremia' - that's 'The Book of Jeremiah' to you) make these stories, often of an underclass, to be page turners. In the end though, some of these tales got a bit samey-samey and I didn't finish the book. I would if I had my own copy, by picking the stories up again from time to time. But it's from the library, and they want it back.

We all know something about David Livingstone. He was the Victorian explorer who was determined to learn the source of the Nile River He was also was a physician and missionary who hoped to use his influence to stop the east African Arab Swahili slave trade. This book is the story of the mainly ex-slaves who after his death, as the expedition was still questing for the Nile's elusive source, decided to bury his heart where he had died, and transport his body to the coast so that his bones could be buried back in England. It's told in two voices: That of his cook, Halima, and of the Christian Joseph Wainwright, also born into slavery. Halima is garrulous and not always easy to stick with, whereas Joseph, though self-righteous and opinionated, is a more engaging read. This is the story of an extraordinary journey, bringing a dead man who they had learnt to respect if not love through wild and dangerous conditions, often experiencing animosity in the villages they passed through. It's the story of people who were largely disregarded and disrespected by the white people they encountered, and hints at the legacy of slavery and colonialism which would Africa for many decades after. A powerful story of courage, loyalty, resilience and of all-too human failings

A historical novel pursuing a brilliant idea, namely describing the lives and ordeals of the 69 men and women who carried Livingstone’s body from the place he died at lake Bangweulu to Bagamoyo, and onwards to Westminster Abbey. The novel aims at decolonizing the idea of the white man as ‘discoverer’ of an uncharted world. Also the novel hopes to deconstruct or at least qualify the idea of faithful, noble savages, who are so loyal to their white leader that they carry his body home: other motives play a role: dreams of rewards and riches, opportunities to become ordained and advance in life, a new life abroad, a return home as a free person or a Chief in waiting. Despite this promise, the novel was a bit disappointing, nothing much happens for a long time.

The voice of Halima, daughter of a favourite mistress of the Liwali of Zanzibar, cook for Bwana Daudi (Livingstone), is a cheeky voice and gives us context in the first part. The duplicitous, sanctimonious voice of Jacob Wainwright, a Yao who was sold in slavery as a kid and freed by an English anti-slavery vessel between Africa and Zanzibar, guides us throughout the journey to Bagamoyo. He was sent on to India, to the so called Nassicker school, where liberated boy slaves were educated by British missionaries, taking on their surnames. Jacob was one of the 10 Nassicker boys who Stanley sent to join Livingstone after their famous meeting up at Ujiji.

The plot of the ordeals they encounter on their tortuous way to the coast centres on the shifty character of Chirango, who secretly plays a key role in the death of many travelling companions. He was destined to become a great warrior Changamire, but his career was derailed and he blames the whitemen for that. He represents an authentic African voice, who perceives what’s coming (white colonial dominance) and uses all means at his disposal to thwart that. Chirango is cozying up to the sanctimonious Jacob, who he sets up for an illicit affair with the voluptuous Ntaoéka. Chirango is also taking personal revenge on slights perpetrated on him. In the end he is killed himself by the force of group anger.

In the third part, we hear Halima’s and Jacob Wainwright’s voices for a last time, each looking back on subsequent events from different places. Halima ended up being manumitted and the proud owner of a house in Zanzibar (which she later gives up for a house in Bagamoyo). She ultimately got something going with Susi, the faithful follower of Livingstone, who undertakes some more expeditions, after his journey to England to help interpret Livingstone’s diaries, and before succumbing and converting to Christianity on his death bed. Wainwright does not end up an ordained priest, after being one of the coffin bearers at Westminster Abbey. His tall tales of making converts does not sit well with the white clergy in England, and when in frustration he then points out Livingstone’s cozying up to slave traders like Tippo Tip, his fate is sealed. He is sent back destitute to Zanzibar and after some days as street sweeper he is picked up and sent on a missionary expedition to the court of Buganda. Contrary to expectations, there he is treated as a houseboy for the British Anglican mission head, and after some years of humble service taken on as a court translator by the Bakaka.

Somehow it all ends quite different from expectation for most of the crew that carried Livingstone’s corpse across the African savannah, except for Halima and the two Indian doctors. Which is probably a fair reflection of the outcome of Livingstone’s noble missions – colonialism with its ugly face. Gappah took over ten years writing this book – this must have been her original idea of being a writer, but she had to undergo a heavy pregnancy to deliver it.½

purchased HC as gift for Dad in November 2019 - David Livingstone story by lawyer and writer from Zimbabwe
WINNER OF THE 2020 CHAUTAUQUA PRIZE
ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019

Fictional account of the trip to bring Dr. Livingston's body out of Africa. Told from the POV of Halima and Jacob Wainwright. Why did they decide to make the trip? Halima tells her story of how she came to be with the Livingston party. Jacob Wainwright dreams of becoming a priest and missionary back in Africa. Jacob is very self-righteous.½

Loved this. It wasn't a convoluted read but you had to keep turning pages to see what was going on. Easy to read and easy to care for the main character. I liked that it ended on a hopeful note.

In The Book of Memory, the narrative takes the form of the protagonist Memory's recounting her story to support her appeal from a death sentence in prison in Zimbabwe. A black albino, Memory has been convicted for the murder of the white man she believes bought her from her parents as a child.

It's a novel that explores a number of interesting themes amidst the backdrop of the relatively newly formed Zimbabwe and the political and social upheaval of the times: the societal difficulties of being albino as a person of colour in Africa, homosexuality in a country where it is outlawed, the education disparities between the wealthy and the poor.

I enjoyed the writing style in this book. It's a book that didn't necessarily feel particularly new in terms of its plot ideas (so much so that for a while I was convinced I'd read it before), but it swept me along and Gappah kept the intrigue right to the end.

4 stars - a very worthwhile random grab from the library this week.

This tells a fictional account of what happened after David Livingston died and it was decided he should go back to England for burial.

We also learn something of the quest David Livingston undertook.

Told by two of the participants it's an engaging tale. It does take a while to get into but in my opinion it's worth perseverance.

It's a long and tortuous journey and not for the faint hearted. 1500 miles in the heart of Africa was very tough going for all the 69 participants.

We also learn the back story of Jacob who was sold into slavery and is now desperate to bring people to Christ.

The reader through the journey learns about the different attitudes of those they meet on the way and the white men.

A good read which taught me more of a subject I knew little of , so can recommend

Superlative short stories, with the tapestry becoming richer as characters recur.

Amazing story. Beautifully written.

This is what I think of as a warp/weft novel, reframing a story we think we know. Other examples include Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, which offers the story of Bertha Mason, the madwoman whose story is reduced to Rochester's contemptuous narrative in Jane Eyre; Michael Cunningham's The Hours, which illuminates aspects of Woolf as she wrote Mrs. Dalloway; and Peter Carey's Jack Maggs, which imagines the backstory of Magwitch in Great Expectations. Gappah's novel reframes the Scotsman David Livingstone's explorations of Africa, which is traditionally refracted through the English/American Henry Morton Stanley's account of finding Livingstone at Ujiji. Set in 1870s Africa, this book imagines the perspectives of the native Africans who buried Livingstone's heart in the jungle and brought his dried bones to Bagamoyo on the east coast. The first section is told by Halima, the shrewd and sharp-tongued cook, and the second by Jacob Wainwright, one of the "Nassick boys" who were seized from slave ships and educated by the British in a school in Bombay. She is voluble and wryly humorous; he is self-righteous and naive, and their comments about each other add spice and humor. (To be honest, I found Halima's section more engaging.) There is a full complement of secondary characters, including Stanley, the various villagers, thieves, porters, chiefs, and children. The novel is immersive, thoughtful, and profoundly aware of how our experience is deeply subjective, and the stories we tell ourselves shape our lives. I think fans of Geraldine Brooks's YEAR OF WONDERS will enjoy this book. Recommend to fans of historical fiction.

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" The familiar question is attributed to journalist/explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who came to Africa in search of David Livingstone, a Welsh physician and missionary who had set out to find the source of the Nile but had not been heard from for six years. If you expect Livingstone's story to be the focus of Out of Darkness, Shining Light, you may be disappointed--although his corpse is central to the novel. Gappah gives us two narrators who are among the mourners who accompany the body of "Bwana Daudi" from the depths of what is now Zambia to the coast, so that it may be shipped home for burial. Halima is the explorer's cook, a woman whose mother gave birth to her in a harem. While she constantly reminds us of her privileged birth, Halima had fallen into slavery and was purchased by Livingstone. The other narrator is Jacob Wainwright, a young Indian and also a former slave, who had been chosen to be educated by a missionary group for Christian service. He was one of eight selected to accompany Livingstone to Africa. The chapters he narrates take up the larger part of the book, which is rather a shame since Halima is the more interesting of the two. Jacob's dream is to go to England, where he hopes to be ordained, and then return to Africa to save as many souls as possible. Not surprisingly, his journal is full of pompous sanctimony as he judges everyone around him, apparently so that he can forgive them, and constantly cites examples from the bible. It was rather satisfying to see him fall to his own hypocrisy. Halima, on the other hand, while not always the most reliable narrator, is earthly, garrulous, emotional, and charming. Both she and Jacob are devoted to Livingstone and devastated by his illness and death.

The book describes events after the missionary succumbs to malaria and dysentery. Everyone agrees that his body should be returned home, but the first problem they face is how best to transport a stinking, decaying corpse that will weigh them down. Once that has been resolved, the journey to the coast begins. Along the way, the travelers encounter friendly villagers who offer them food and shelter, many of whom wish to hold ceremonies honoring Livingstone. But all does not go smoothly: there are violent outliers ready to attack, villages that close their gate when the travelers are most in need, and betrayals and jealousies within the party itself. The internal conflicts and what they reveal about human nature are definitely the best part of the novel.

Gappah writes well, but at times I admit to wishing that she would just get on with it. Some scenes seemed to drag on forever, and I found myself skimming the chapters written by Jacob as I was getting tired of his irritating voice. I stuck with it to the end, and it was worth it to find out how everyone--especially Halima--ended up.

I knew of David Livingstone, but not much more than his name and that he was a missionary. Out of Darkness, Shining Light sheds, well, light on Livingstone's life and death. I always enjoy historical fiction which fleshes out a real life character and Gappah does a great job of this.

When you say Stanley and Livingstone, is the first thing that pops into your head, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" I know it was the first thing that popped into mine. And while this encounter is undoubtedly famous, there was much more to David Livingstone's trips through Africa looking for the source of the Nile than this. Livingstone did not exist in a vacuum, lost until Stanley tracked him down. In fact, he was surrounded by quite a large entourage of native African people whose role in his exploration, his survival on his travels, and in the end the catalyst for his body being transported to the coast over months and months and hence to England for his hero's burial, has been downplayed or minimized, effectively excluding them from the mythic narrative about the man. Petina Gappah redresses some of this erasure in her novel about Livingstone's death and the slow march to take his body to the coast, told through the voice of Livingstone's cook Halima and the diaries of the British-Indian educated, pious, missionary trained, former slave Jacob Wainwright.

Told by Halima and Jacob, this is not the story of Livingstone's journeys. It is of his final African journey, the one undertaken after his death, and as such, mostly devoid of his voice (although chapter epigraphs sometimes have excerpts from his journals). It is the story of the people who called him Bwana Daudi and who undertook the immense task of getting his body 1500 miles to the coast so he could be sent home and buried among his own people. Halima, Livingstone's cook, narrates the first part of the novel in a sly, gossipy tone. She notes the undercurrents flowing throughout the group in terms of power and sex, religion and education. She presents herself as one who knows and suggests the correct decisions to the group, even if she has to be sneaky or roundabout in convincing the men to adopt her conclusions. She is very concerned with the earthly while Jacob is much more concerned with the spiritual. If Halima is contentious with the women and mouthy with the men, Jacob is much more circumspect but not any better liked with his arrogance and his desire to convert the others to Christianity. Halima's voice is firmly from the domestic sphere, gossipy and confidential, while Jacob's, through his journal entries, is superior and judgmental, the voice of a particularly fervent missionary, one trained to scorn the wrongheadedness of his own people. Halima's account of the journey is more outward focused than Jacob's inner wrestlings (especially against his lust for one of the women) but neither one sees the whole truth of all of the goings on, the strife, the fear, the anger, the loyalty, and the compliance of those with whom they travel.

The story is slow and deliberate, echoing the journey itself. The tone is dark and ultimately tragic. And Gappah presses on the wounds of colonialism as she puts this invented tale in the mouth and pen of two real historical figures. Readers won't miss the commentary on the slave trade; the contradiction of Livingstone, an abolitionist, buying and using Africans in his own quest (or as "road wives" for his men); the tensions between religions, native, Islam, and Christianity; the rage and fear that this one dead white man being returned, with his papers, to his people will bring more waves of colonizers who will steal the land and force their ideas on the people; or the constant death and distrust that travels with the expedition. The world that Gappah has brought to life is one on the cusp, or perhaps already falling into the abyss, of massive change at the hands of outsiders and her research and attention to historical detail is impressive. There are times that some of that research is overwhelming in a story overloaded with characters, place names, and so forth that have to be explained to the reader but which wouldn't have occasioned any kind of explanation from either Halima or Jacob in actual practice, being common knowledge as they were. This is not an easy read, heavy and full of the portents of the future. It is a very different heart of darkness from Conrad's but a heart of darkness nonetheless.

Well written and quite compelling. The way the author tells the story makes you feel like you are right there watching all this happen.

Summary: A historical fiction narrative, told in two voices, of the attendants of Dr. David Livingstone, who with a large company carried the body of Livingstone from Chitambo, where he died, to Zanzibar, a journey of over 1500 miles and 285 days.

Pettina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer who offers us an African perspective on the last journey of Dr. David Livingstone, through the eyes and words of two of his attendants, part of the group that carried his body 1500 miles so that it might be returned to Livingstone's people.

The story is told through Halima, who Livingstone had purchased in a slave market, assigned as a "travel wife" of Amoda, the leader of the party, with the promise of her manumission at the end of the journey, and of Jacob Wainwright, a freed slave trained in a mission school in India for mission work.

I suspect most people will much prefer the voice of Halima. She is practical and resilient and discerning in her insights into the character of others. She is a survivor with a sharp tongue. She reads the flighty character of Ntaoéka and the shifty and deceitful character of Chirango. When the men decide to transport the body of Livingstone back to Zanzibar, she is the one who figures out how to preserve his body by drying it in the sun, first removing the viscera, including the heart, which is buried in Chitambo.

Wainwright has the insufferable air of a recent convert, sanctimonious and judgmental of others, but, beyond his judgments, one who gave a meticulous account of the actual journey. His account is the longer of the two, covering the actual journey. In the process, we see his own hypocrisy, as he succumbs to Ntaoéka's charms, and falls under the power of Chirango, who promises to "protect" their secret.

The narrative of returning this body, something unheard of, and questionable to some in the party, both accentuates the flaws of individuals, including murderous ones, as well as the resilience and determination of those who make this journey. While these aspects are in the foreground in much of the novel, they exist against the background of the slave trade, which determined a much longer route taken to the coast, one nevertheless lined with the bodies of dead slaves abandoned, tied to trees. There is also the quixotic quest of Livingstone for the source of the Nile, unsuccessful but paving the way for missionaries and then the colonial powers who sent them. This is the Livingstone who is an abolitionist, and yet subjugates Africans to his quest, including the buying of slave women to be "travel wives." Then there are the missionaries who later on refuse to let Jacob Wainwright, who has converted a number of Africans, be any more than a lowly assistant.

Gappah spent more than ten years researching this work and provides a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, unusual for historical fiction. She offers a narrative at once riveting as a chronicle of a heroic journey of sacrifice, and revelatory, as an account of the impact upon Africans of the coming, in succession of the slave trader, the explorer, the missionary and the colonial interests. Ironically, in this instance, the Africans who embark on this heroic journey, for all their faults, show greater respect for the person and the faith of Livingstone than is shown for their persons and their faith by those who would convert and conquer them.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Written in a pair of completely dissimilar voices, Out of Darkness, Shining Light, recounts the journey taken across Africa to bring the body of David Livingstone to the coast whence it could be returned to England. The journey, decided upon by the Africans traveling with Livingstone at the time of his death, is historical fact. The novel is both an attempt to make vivid the journey as it happened and an exploration of alternate ways that journey might have been experienced by those undertaking it.

Both narrators, a female cook, Halima, and an aspiring minister, Jacob Wainwright, who was rescued from the slave trade and educated at a school for former slaves in India are garrulous. Halima speaks colloquially, loading her tale with bits of gossip and digressions. Wainwright casts the entire journey as his own Pilgrim's Progress, and consciously and carefully uses his own very formal version of the English language to narrative the journey. Both voices require some getting used to, but their very different pacing and perspectives pull readers in.

Out of Darkness, Shining Light examines both the motivation of those who explore and "discover"—almost invariably in land inhabited by and well-know to indigenous peoples—and the way we each work to piece our own lives into coherent, purposeful narrative. It offers a thought-provoking read that will remain with readers long after the book is finished.

An extraordinary novel about the men and women who carried Dr. David Livingstone's dead body on his last journey so that he could be buried in England. A portrayal of the loyalty of the men and women who carried him despite the hardships that they suffered. The book is told by two of these courageous individuals. This novel is bound to be a best seller.
It is not a novel that I would have normally read , but I received it in a goodreads giveaway and was glad that I did, as I enjoyed this book very much.

Unusual book - This is the telling of the struggles to bring the body of Dr. David Livingston the eastern coast of Africa where he died to the western coast where the body was sent home for burial in England. The first part of the book is narrated by Halima, a sharp-tongued slave cook in Livingston's party. Halima has been purchased by Livingston to be the "road wife" of another man in the party. Her telling is witty and so believably told - seeing the world from her eyes. The second part of the novel (and larger part) is told by the sanctimonious Jacob Wainwright, a young man who was captured to be a slave and was remarkably saved and sent to India where he learned to be a Christian and took on a new name. Jacob's telling while also humorous in a way is not as engaging as Helima's.

I loved the premise of the book and the research that has gone into it. Each chapter begins with a short notation from either Dr. Livingston's own accounts or similar accounts from the time. The author has taken obscure names from these real accounts and put personalities to them. These represent the unknown people who have had a role in historical events. The idea of disemboweling Dr. Livingston in order to take him across the continent is based on fact as is organs are buried in Africa and his bones buried in Westminster Abbey.

Well written with a light touch and deep respect to all the characters. Really a great novel (took off half a star for the bit too wordy section told by Jacob). Interesting look at slavery in Africa and the part that the European missionaries played in it.½

"This is how we carried out of Africa the poor broken body of Bwana Duadi, the Doctor, David Livingstone, so that he could be borne across the sear and buried in his own land."~ from Out of Darkness, Shining Light (Being a Faithful Account of the Final Years and Earthly Days of Doctor David Livingstone and His Last Journey form the interior to the Coast of Africa, as Narrated by His African Companions, in Three Volumes) by Petina Gappah

Truth is often stranger than fiction, for who would imagine that the body of Doctor David Livingstone would be carried 1000 miles across Africa, under threat of dangers including kidnapping into slavery, so he could be shipped back to England and rest in his native land? It seems the stuff of legend. But it happened in 1873. Petina Gappah spent ten years researching this journey, then imagining the forgotten people whose dedication to the Doctor spurred their journey.

I had hoped for a great adventure story and found a journey that vividly recreates late 19th c Africa with its clash of cultures, religions, and power. It is filled with unforgettable characters, culminates in an explosive late revelation, and brings to light the impact of colonization.

The Doctor's missionary zeal abated while his anti-slavery zeal and respect for the Africans grew. He became obsessed with discovering the source of the Nile, believing its discovery would bring him the status and power to advance his ideals. When Stanley found the missing Livingstone he was already ill but would not return to civilization. The mixed group he had gathered, Africans, Muslims, manumitted slaves, and mission-trained Christian blacks, were left with the responsibility for his remains. They buried his heart and organs, dried his body, and proceeded to walk 279 days to Zanzibar.

Gappah tells the story in two voices. The appealing Halima was documented as Livingstone's cook, bought from slavery and freed by him. Halina's mother was a concubine in the house of a servant of the Sultan. Halima was a bondswoman passed from man to man. She dreams of the house Livingstone promised her. Then there is Jacob Wainwright, bought from slavery and sent to the mission school, a devote Christian who quotes The Pilgrim's Progress. Jacob's tale is stilted in language and filled with religious concerns, he is dislikeable and arrogant. He struggles with his passions and questions of faith. And yet, this faithful, educated, ambitious man's hopes are dashed because of his color and ethnicity.

The journey is rife with conflict and even death as the men vie for power and control and importance--and women. They face enemies and famine. They see hopeless villages devoid of their youth by the slavers. And everywhere, dry bones tied to trees, kidnapped Africans left by the slavers to die. Instead of welcome and assistance, the Europeans confiscate essentials.

"...this was no longer just the last journey of the Doctor, but our journey too. I was no longer just about the Doctor, about the wrongs and rights of bearing him home, or burying him here or buying him there, but about all that we had endured. It was about our fallen comrades." ~from Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Petina Gappah

How did this one man, this Doctor Livingstone, manage to inspire such loyalty? He was beloved because of his acceptance and respect for those he met, his understanding of human nature, his commitment to ending slavery--liberal Christian values out-of-sync with his time.

"But out of that great and troubling darkness came shining light. Our sacrifice burnished the glory of his life." ~from Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Petina Gappah

I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Narrated by Memory, a young black Zimbabwean woman, in jail for the murder of her white adopttve father. She is writing down her life story for her lawyer's planned appeal - a Book of Memory indeed- and takes us through her life, darting back and forth from the grim daily prison routine to recollections of her childhood. A loving father, a strange mother, family tragedies, the Zimbabwean world of religion and superstition....and then the inexplicable moment that she was 'sold' to a professor, and the world of privilege she came to inhabit. The facts only emerge in the last chapters, revealing an unexpected twist.
Quite a page-turner. *3.5.½

I don't disagree that this book starts slow. It's a strange book in many ways, with the heavy-handed metaphors, the almost-ridiculous storyline...but it also moves from being slow to being much, much more readable. I can't decide how I feel about it.

A complicated one to rate. A slow, meandering read that was never the less rich in detail and characterisation and beautifully written. It is ambiguous and not a recommend for anyone who likes their novels with clear narrative and concise outcomes.

Plot in a Nutshell

Mnemosyne, known as Memory is an Albino woman incarcerated in a Zimbabwean high security prison for the murder of her ‘adopted father’, a white man named Lloyd. The novel takes the form of a series of journals she is writing to a western journalist interested in her story. In her journal she covers her early life with her family in the township outside of Harare, how she came to live with Lloyd, some of her life there and a good deal of prison life. All of which is set against the backdrop of the significant social changes in Zimbabwe at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century

Thoughts

This is not a pace filled, action led novel. Much of the writing is Memory sifting through her thoughts and memories from early childhood and her immediate prison experiences. In so doing she explores race, disability, memory and family. All of this is however done in a non-linear way so the story jumps from her time with Lloyd, to early childhood and prison and back round again and again. This felt very realistic to the experience of an intelligent, educated woman who had been without writing materials for over two years but did make the reading and following of the plot a little disjointed.

Whilst Gappah writes in English she includes a fair amount of the Shona language which although adding authenticity did also break up the story a little – particularly in places where she did not include translations. A final point on slowing the story down; there is a large cast of prisoners and prison words introduced; few add to the story but did confuse initially whilst trying to keep them all straight in my head, especially without a cast list!

If I found the Shona hard going at times I really enjoyed the local mythology and folktales that Memory relates when reflecting on her earlier life and her mother’s beliefs and how they are balanced and sit alongside the pursuit of more organised religion. I also love that Memory is a vociferous reader and found the chapter that has her exploring Lloyd’s library and using it to settle herself in her new life charming.

The subtle backdrop to the complicated Colonial history of Rhodesia and the early history of Zimbabwe was fascinating and makes me want to read more on this topic as there was an expectation of some pre knowledge in the writing.

Overall I enjoyed this one but would have liked to have seen slightly less on prison life and more of Memory’s experiences with Lloyd who seemed like an interesting character or her time outside of Zimbabwe and how that shaped her experiences further.½

Probably 3 1/2 stars, really, but I'm in a generous mood and the next-to-last story in this book was stellar. What stands out in this collection is the sense of place; Gappah does a great job with the milieu, and that held my interest even when the plots and characters were basically the same kinds of plots and characters one generally finds in literary short stories.

Memory is in a Zimbabwe prison. She has been found guilty of murdering her white adopted father,Lloyd. Her lawyer has asked her to write down her memories and the reader gradually learns the story of her life. Memory relates her 'sale' to Lloyd, a rich white man and how her life changes. She receives treatment for her albinism, goes to a convent school and then to university, travels to England and Australia. Memory never sees her parents or sister again. Gappah really brings Zimbabwe and its people to life.
I listened to an audiobook read by Chipo Chung who did a great job.