Received: Sabatini's The Boy Next Door

On September 8, 2009, Little, Brown and Company (USA) is releasing The Boy Next Door by Geneva-based Zimbabwean author, Irene Sabatini, who grew up "gobbling up books from the [Bulawayo] public library". A graduate of University of Zimbabwe, Irene Sabatini "ventured across continents to Colombia...and one early morning she found herself in the lush countryside outside Bogota,...she opened a red notebook and started writing. She has yet to stop."

This book is described as a love story set against he backdrop of political upheaval, crafted from an insider's perspective, since the author grew up in Zimbabwe, lived in two of the most important political enclaves of Zimbabwe--Harare and Bulawayo, not to mention some of her childhood in Hwange. "Insider perspective", great concept, as we all know the old writing adage write what you know, which, when mixed with write what you don't know, may produce great results. Once you start your story in familiar territory, you are on an exploration of the unknown, where any outcome is possible....

Anyway, The Boy Next Door starts in Bulawayo after Lindiwe's fourteenth birthday, on the day the boy next door sets her stepmother on fire. The boy is arrested but is soon released. Lindiwe and the boy fall in love, but since theirs is an inter-racial friendship, they will go through difficulties set in the backdrop of political upheaval.

Very promising story. Here is the first sentence: "Two days after I turned fourteen the son of our neighbor set his stepmother alight."

I really wanted to do something different this weekend, but it seems I will be doing SOMETHING (reading the 403 pages in front of me).

The Boy Next Door joins the family of other 2009 Zimbabwean books on my shelves. Here are some of images:

Harare North by Brian Chikwava, The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini, and Many Rivers by Chris Mlalazi

The Boy Next Door, with Elegy for Eastery and Harare North.

with An Elegy and Uncle BlenBlen's African Folktales for Children

with An Elegy and Ignatius Tirivangani Mabasa's The Man, Shaggy Leopard and Jackal.

Well, I don't have to finish reading the book by the end of this weekend, but definitely by the end of next week. I will be sharing my insights then, but for now, here are some words by Debra Ginsberg, an advance reviewer:

"Irene Sabatini's remarkable debut novel about Zimbabwe is a kaleidoscopic blend of elements encompassing everything from coming-of-age and first love to race,nationalism, and the rapid degradation of a once-thriving country. The story is at once sprawling and intimate, political and personal...."