The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabweby Peter Godwin
Little, Brown 2011. 371 pgs. Nonfiction
Last year I read Peter Godwin’s memoir, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, about his return to Zimbabwe when his father was dying and his realization while there that his homeland was dying too. In this book, Godwin and his sister return to Zimbabwe in early 2008 after dictator Robert Mugabe has been defeated by the popular vote. Mugabe refuses to give up the presidency and responds with a brutal campaign of violence and torture against his “enemies”. Godwin tours the country secretly interviewing victims of the regime and documenting the chaos in Zimbabwe.
This book was hard to read because some of the descriptions of atrocities were just too heartbreakingly vivid. I had to read it a little at a time, but I learned much more about the current situation in Zimbabwe than I had ever known before. Although some of the stories in it are truly devastating, there are also many accounts of bravery from people who are not afraid to stand up for they know is right.
JC
No comments:
Post a Comment