Bones

Winner of the Noma Award. Bones is the poetic and evocative novel by Chenjerai Hove, offering an intimate view into the Zimbabwe War of Liberation and the minds of those who were left behind. To Marita, an illiterate labourer on a commercial farm, the promise of independence for Rhodesia means very little. Poverty persists and her white boss continues the brutal treatment of his workers. Yet, for her son, it is a matter of life and death. Told through the voices of the people whose lives she touched, we witness Marita's devastation at her son's choice to run away and fight for liberation – and her determination to discover what happened to him. Written in a blend of poetic prose and oral tradition, Bones is rich with Shona idioms and dares to ask how a nation can be free when its oppressors refuse to leave. 'Chenjerai Hove’s figure looms large in Zimbabwe’s literary pantheon.' Guardian 'A harrowing tale.' New York Times