A novel of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe – Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

Submitted: 7th February 2019

An epic historical tale of Zimbabwe/Rhodesia

“A child of the Gurkahundi massacre, uses any means necessary to obtain the family denied to him by the brutality of the regime….”

This is a novel of three parts and many more layers. It’s an epic read and certainly as it’s only a debut novel! Impressive in scope and ambition.

BookTrail locations in House of Stone

Book Setting: The story of a country and its people

BookTrail locations in House of Stone

Bookreview

A history of a country and the people who live its story. Hurt, pain, fear and freedom.

It’s an impressively detailed and thought-provoking read for a debut novel. There’s a clear sense that the author has lived parts of this story and has researched the rest from unique sources. It’s the story of a family of sorts who live through a country on the edge. About to fall, it manages to fight through the traps of colonalism only to find itself torn by the post-war confusion, violence and free for all that results.

One of the characters, Zamani, is the outsider of the family in the story. He is a lodger living with a family who gradually begins to worm his way further into their home and friends. The police have arrested one of that family – Bukhosi – at a rally so his absence allows Zamani to further get his feet under the table. It’s not an easy family to be in however, as the man, Abed, likes the drink a little too much. However, it does enable the tales and the talking to flow more freely.

And so the stories begin to come – of the rallies, the white rule, Mugabe’s Rise to power and more. There’s a lot of history here. Perhaps too much at times as it does sometimes weigh down the reading of the story. Characters seem flattened by it.

It’s an impressive feat to write a mix of fact and fiction in this way. I know little of Zimbabwe’s story through the many battles, struggles, labour camps and violent clashes. The Gukurahundi Massacres were particularly upsetting to read about. I did collect a list of names and struggles throughout my reading to help look things up I might have glossed over or not understood. There wasn’t a glossary or list of terms to help with the history timeline or words dotted through the text.

I feel this is a book I should have liked more. It was interesting, informative and epic in scale but a little too ambitious for me. It’s a story that needed to be told, but a shorter and more concise novel would have helped bring the story and the characters to life.

History buffs will love it!