Weaver Press

Women Writing Zimbabwe
edited by Irene Staunton
2008: (pp: 144) 210 x 132 mm
ISBN: 9781779220738



The Zimbabwean
1 March 2009

Reviewer: Josephine Muganiwa

Women Writing reflects diverse suffering of Zimbabweans at home and abroad

This book has 15 well-crafted short stories by women from various backgrounds. They capture the Zimbabwean experiences in a refreshing way. National challenges are reflected in comic fashion which enables the reader to celebrate life – rather than a sense of pathos. Broadly speaking, the stories can be divided into two categories: experiences at home and experiences in the Diaspora.

Women Writing Zimbabwe is an excellent collection, a must-read for everyone. It cannot be accused of not being fully Zimbabwean as John Eppel has complained that when most people talk of Zimbabwean authors, they mean black authors. All Zimbabweans are represented. In this way the collection does not hide the challenges and ironies of Zimbabwean experiences but opens them up for debate.

Nine of the stories focus on the experiences of Zimbabweans at home and how they cope with the challenges they face. Pat Brickhill’s 'Senzeni’s Nativity' focuses on teenage pregnancy. Esi moves from tragic feelings over wasted school fees to a celebration of new life. In the last paragraph everyone joins in the celebration despite the fact that the father never turns up and denies paternity. Senzeni herself gains a sense of identity and agency for the first time.

Di Charsley’s 'Death Wish' reflects the colonial history of dispossession of blacks by whites. This is juxtaposed with the current lack of food and loss of children to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The ironies of interracial relationships are fully highlighted in Annie Holmes’s Delivery.

In 'In the Heart of the Golden Triangle', Petina Gappah explores the meaning of success. Is it staying in a posh suburb, acquiring branded material wealth and associating with influential people in the community? Is it happiness? The persona hides behind materialism so as not to face the pain of being an abandoned wife.

Blessing Musariri’s 'Tichafataona Sleeps' reflects on the painful history of the liberation struggle and its haunting aftermaths way after independence. In this it is similar to Alexander Kanengoni’s Echoing Silences and Charles Samupindi’s Pawns.

While old age is to be respected, there are many challenges faced by those who take care of the elderly. Chiedza Musengezi’s 'The Carer' fully explores this experience.

Vivienne Ndlovu’s 'Bare Bones' raises uncomfortable moral questions. It explores the concept of euthanasia in the context of a dilapidated health delivery system. A very touching story.

'Mainini Grace’s Promise' by Valerie Tagwira portrays the challenges faced by the girl child in taking care of an ailing mother in the context of a failing economy.

Stories on the diaspora experience largely reflect a quest for identity and freedom. Freedom is mainly from economic impoverishment caused by the collapsed Zimbabwean economy.

In the style of Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Menzis Gugu Ndlovu changes his name to Paul Khulu in Gugu Ndlovu’s 'Everything is Nice, Zimbulele'. His adopted identity enables him to escape the weight of failure as he fails to fulfill his parents’ expectations.

This is a valuable addition to contemporary Zimbabwean literature – reflecting the diversity of experiences, mostly painful, through which Zimbabweans are enduring in the first decade of the 21st Century.

© The author/publisher