A Lifetime of Struggle

I love reading books. There is nothing I enjoy more than immersing myself in a narrative and finding myself emotionally invested and thinking of the characters’ lives long after I have put the book away. I enjoy the process of discovery and I take pleasure in how much I learn about myself during the process. I am obsessive about most things I do. And reading is no different. I will not read just anything. I have a long list of books that I must read and I read and re-read book reviews before I give a book a chance. It’s probably why I am petrified of writing a book of my own (who will want t read it?). But there have been books that I have just bumped into and I have loved. Jeffery Nyarota’s , Against the Grain was one such book and it was after reading it that I set myself the task of reading as many Zimbabwean books as possible, particularly books with some of some sort of political commentary. Since setting myself that task, other books have got in the way. Women in Love, The Help, Revolutionary Road, One Day, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Perfectionist,  The Women’s Room, The Other Hand, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Devil and Miss Prym and Jane Eyre. I also got the best birthday present ever; a kindle from my family which didn’t help things! All of this diverted my attention from this genre I had sparked a genuine interest in. Most were good diversions!

Being back here has sparked that interest again and as coincidence would have it; I stumbled upon a book by Edgar ‘2 Boy’ Zivanai Tekere. My sisters and I spoke about this book ad nauseam. We wanted to read it, heard it was controversial and simply couldn’t get our hands on it. It made us want to read it even more.[1]Then there it was on my mother’s dining table! I began to read it straight away. Because the book forms part of a series of autobiographies sponsored by the SAPES Trust[2], it reads in the beginning like a piece of academic writing focusing on Southern African History, anti-colonial struggles and the demise of what were once promising post-colonial states. It doesn’t help that the foreword was written by Ibbo Mandaza, an academic, author and publisher. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good academic writing. I’d do that for a living if I could (I actually kinda do!) but I think for a book that was heralded as a scoop, a titillating expose and so on, the academic bla  bla slows things down a bit!

The struggle for Zimbabwe is laid out in a clear chronology and it is a great reminder of the different events that led to Zimbabwe’s independence. Although the names and dates were mostly familiar, it was a stark and embarrassing reminder of how little I know about my country’s history and how I really should read more. Those kinds of things really matter to me! I have since trawled through the book’s footnotes and made a list of books that I must read, it has gone right to the top of my countless must-read books. One day when I win the lotto and I become a lady of leisure I will sit down and tackle the list! Anyway back to the book.

I know a few people keen on reading A Lifetime of Struggle, so I will not spoil it for them. I will not go into retelling the story but I will share my thoughts.

• A  Lifetime of Struggle gives good insight into the formation of the ZANU PF.  A lot of what the party is today can be traced back to those early days.
•  The book outlines the important role that Zimbabwe’s neighbours played in helping to achieve independence. There was a real unity and an understanding that their own independence was empty when others around them didn’t yet have their freedom. I wish there was more of that sentiment going around in the world now!
•  My most favourite thing about this book is how it outlines the importance of women in the liberation struggle. I’m something of a feminist! Not the card carrying, belligerent, wishing all men would fry kind! Just the kind that wishes the world could not only see but recognise women’s contribution to the betterment of the world around us. A Lifetime of Struggle doesn’t treat women as an added extra, but goes a long way to establish the fact that women were important to the struggle and that this should not be overlooked.
• I will admit to ignorance on the next point! I was surprised by the extent to which the liberation fighters and the ‘thinkers’ relied on spirit mediums and African Traditional Religion in their quest to free Zimbabwe. Tekere shares loads of stories of how he believes the ancestors helped the liberation fighters during the war. Colonisation may have brought Christianity but the belief that the ancestors are the way in which people connect to Musikavanhu (God), was and remains the foundational belief system for many.
• A Lifetime of Struggle was what my husband and I would call a ‘Logistical Nightmare’ to read! I’ll explain. I like things to be in order. Everything MUST have its place. I even use subheadings in my journal (!) Because of that, when you tell me a story I need it to be in order. Introduction, Body and Conclusion! I’m a high school teacher’s dream! So for instance Tekere raises the point that tribalism was used as a way to create division amongst Zimbabweans. I say raise it and explain it there. He doesn’t do that. Many points are raised for later discussion. I get that perhaps stylistically it makes sense but his style meant I constantly referred back to previous chapters just to make sure I had a handle on exactly what he was saying. NOT COOL for a neurotic person such as myself!
• There was no real big expose in A Lifetime of Struggle. It is simply events according to Tekere! The expectation that perhaps something shocking would come out of this book was probably because it was difficult to get a hold of and while I waited, lots was said about it and my expectation shot through the roof! Relax.
• The book has some really funny moments, sad moments, loads and loads of name dropping and has sparked genuine interest in other political figures which I will soon be reading about!

So on the whole, it’s an ok book. I am not particularly keen on the style BUT I learnt things I didn’t know a lot about! So if you can get it, read it and tell me what you think. My verdict.....3 out of 5 pieces of fried chicken! Because it’s all about the chicken at the end of the day!

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[1] This reminds me of the book The Perfectionist, mentioned above. It was written by Rudolph Chelminski and is a behind-the-scenes look at the world of French haute cuisine as revealed through the biography of one of France’s most celebrated chefs, Bernard Loiseau. He had three Michelin stars but shocked the culinary world by taking his own life in February, 2003 after one his restaurant ratings dropped. This may not sound like the world’s best read, but I love everything cuisine. I revere chefs the way other people adore sports stars and celebrities. I knew I wanted to read the book but couldn’t find it anywhere for almost a year! I even had my sister trawling bookstores in the U.S. Not being able to find it made me want to read it even more. I finally found an obscure American Bookseller who said they had a used copy, through Amazon. I hate old books, the weird stains, smells and crumbs in the pages put me off but I had to have it. I paid for it on my credit card and counted down every day of the 4weeks they said it would take to get to me. I cannot express the joy I felt when I finally had the crumpled envelope in my hand. Not being able to find something you want to read makes finally reading it all the more pleasurable. Gosh I love blogging! I could never write such a long footnote in an academic piece of work and get away with it! And yet here I am, footnoting away....BLISS!

[2] The Southern Africa Political and Economic Series. Their Aim is to promote social science research, teaching, debate and publications in the Southern African Region.