Na'ima Robert's New Novel about Zimbabwe's Land Reforms
I just learned about Na'ima Robert, whose new novel, Far from Home ,is getting published on July 1. Already,I like the novel's premise and the author's vision. The land issue in Zimbabwe is complex, and many stories (from memoirs to fiction), never seem to capture its deeper implications. Exploring the untold history of Zimbabwe’s land reforms, Far from Home tells the story of Katie and Tariro, two girls linked by a terrible secret, grappling with the complexities of adolescence, family and a painful colonial legacy as their lives play out against the tragic history of the land in Zimbabwe. 14-year-old Tariro is a daughter of the soil: she loves the land, the baobab tree she was born beneath, her family - and brave, handsome Nhamo. She couldn't be happier. But then the white settlers arrive, and everything changes - suddenly, violently - robbing Tariro of all that she loves. Forty years later, 14-year-old Katie adores her doting father, her exclusive boarding school,