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reviews Palaver Finish The African
Review of Books Chenjerai Hove, a leading novelist of Zimbabwe, presents here 21 short but tightly-focused and finely-crafted essays on contemporary Zimbabwe. Hove has written these essays in a sparkling prose that on a literary level makes for fine reading. However, at the same time, he employs humour, narrative and irony to emphasize the absurdities, as well as the crimes, of dictatorship. He does this not by use of didactic rhetoric but through poignant stories which capture the cruelty and craziness of a repressive regime dragging its people into an ever-widening crisis. The author draws on the rich treasury of African oral culture, invoking the wisdom of the elders and folktales to remind readers of the crucial need for tolerance in social life. Hove gives the reader an insight into not only the anguish of one intellectual in the face of increasing human rights violations but also into the more general socio-political crisis that has engulfed Zimbabwe in recent years. Palaver Finish specifically highlights the corrupt role of politicians and the responsibility of the media in this crisis (the essays originally were published in a weekly column in the independent newspaper, The Zimbabwe Standard). Hove not only criticizes, he also argues for alternatives, for hope. He also engages with other issues, ranging from Western stereotypes of Africa (in the essay 'Africa: Reality and Imagination') to the need for Zimbabwe to develop a national book and culture policy, even during times of grave economic crisis. To him, 'a book is a small shrine onto which I gently deposit a bunch of flowers described in words. "A book, Oh, what a universe, it forms, informs, and transforms"'. But the main thrust of the book is the need for an end to political corruption and intolerance. 'Dictatorship does not simply start one fine morning. It begins in small places and spreads its long tentacles and grasping reach.' And, Hove laments, he himself witnessed in one small town 'the workings of a dictatorship in motion, tyranny dished out to every homestead'. These essays will be very useful to readers wishing to understand feelings on the ground in Zimbabwe as the political crisis intensifies. They are equally fine literary pieces. Hence, a wide range of readers will find Palaver Finish insightful and delightful, just as it will prompt reflection, anger and compassion. © The author/publisher |