Shebeen Tales: Messages from Harare

by Chenjerai Hove, Scott Rollins

In Shebeen Tales Zimbabwe's leading novelist offers a view of his country not from the perspective of the foreign correspondent or well-heeled visitor but that of the ordinary person who, with the help of dry wit and illegal beer, pokes fun at the rich and mighty. Struggling against madcap motorists, pompous bureaucrats and the other woes of life, the man in the shebeen sees modern Africa as it really is, not as press releases or tourist brochures would have us believe.
Chenjerai Hove looks straight in the eye of a society suffering from drought, economic hardship and AIDS, but does not succumb to despair. With a wry sense of humour, his pen celebrates a people who continue to live life to the full, to laugh and sing, to tell tall tales - whatever is thrown at them. Shebeen Tales is a series of literary snapshots that takes us into the very heart of modern Africa.

Genres: Africa, African Literature

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essays written by the author for publication in a Dutch newspaper. A variety of topics, and some of them are critical of the government of Robert Mugabe, so it's no surprise that when Hove died, he was living in exile.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific collection of brief essays (newspaper columns, really) describing life in Harare at the end of the last century. Filled with observations that range from comical to poignant to acerbic, Hove paints a vivid picture of life in Zimbabwe. Definitely worthwhile.