There was too much description of boring things, like each of his different school uniforms, and not enough description of interesting things, like the civil war. ( )

Well, it's a memoir.

One that shouldn't be at the top of your list.

I read this book for my f2f book club, and it's a good thing because otherwise I'd have seriously wondered why I wasted my time on it.

The book is separated into four parts.

Godwin's childhood in pre-war Rhodesia is the entire first half of the book. It's boring. He writes it in a child-like voice. That doesn't make it better.

The rest of the book addresses Godwin's involvement in the civil war in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) followed by his role as an investigative journalist and then the aftermath of the civil war.

The subject matter truly did have potential, but Godwin tells, tells, and tells some more. The book only came alive when he related stories of his time in the military. For a short section, I was thinking "now this is at least four star material". Unfortunately, this was a lengthy book, and the good part was probably 70 pages of nearly 500.

I did appreciate that I actually learned something about the civil war in Rhodesia - - and I appreciated that part as it was eye opening. Civil wars are never pretty, and this one was quite horrific.

I wish Godwin had just written a historical fiction piece about the civil war in Rhodesia, or even a non fiction book focused on the war. But instead, we get a memoir half filled with many boring anecdotes that really have little or no point or punchline. I never got a sense of Godwin's emotions - - even in the most horrendous parts of the book where awful things are happening. He writes with a journalist's detachment -- great for newspapers; memoirs not so much.

So, three stars for revealing some interesting history of Zimbabwe. And for being readable even though dull. And for having one very good segment.

Oh by the way, Amazon readers LOVED this book so take my review with a grain of salt . . .I just felt as though there were a lot of plot points in the book, with no emotional underpinning to make you actually care. There were a few exceptions (the tale of his pet ant eater, some of his stories of his time in the military police). . .but even most of those, Godwin did a poor job of evoking his own emotions. For a guy who did a LOT (lawyer, journalist, military police, etc.), it just wasn't nearly as interesting as it should have been. ( )

Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin (2007)

I read this book about 10 years ago, and found it to be one I couldn't put down. It is actually three books in one, about the author in three different phases of his life -- uncomprehending child, national serviceman during the Rhodesian war, and journalist after Zimbabwe's independence. It really gives an insight into the lives led by that disappearing species, the white African. ( )

Fascinating account of a child's coming of age in an alien environment. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did find myself wishing for some photographs of the people and places, especially a more detailed map of the country during the time of this account. I look forward to the continuation of this memoir with "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: a Memoir of Africa." ( )