We Are All Zimbabweans Now

by James Kilgore

In 1982 a young American historian arrives in Zimbabwe filled with idealism and enthusiasm for the benevolent new Prime Minister Robert Mugabe and the postcolonial new beginning for that country. His historic research leads him to an apparent murder case, unresolved since the days of the bush war. As he draws - or is lead - or yet mislead - closer to an answer, he becomes involved with a local woman through whom he soon finds himself in the inner circle of the new ruling class.

Once the euphoria starts dissipating he encounters increasingly menacing instances of corruption and repression, including threats to himself to abandon his investigation. With every new revelation a new layer of decay is exposed and with that, his idealism retreats. In the process, the meaning of the novel's title, taken from Mugabe's conciliatory rhetoric at the beginning, gradually comes to mean: we are all trapped and compromised into the moral tangle and the destruction into which all the promise has degenerated.

An extremely accomplished and compelling novel that deftly employs the instruments of a detective thriller.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Phumlani]

The irony of the author idolizing Mugabe as much as the character struck me and I could not for the love of me shake it off. I noticed how well researched the book is and couldn’t help noticing the deliberate glazing over of the Matabeleland massacres that have been covered extensively elsewhere, that aspect outweighed a lot of the goodness of the book.
I enjoyed it, saw the characters come to life and loved their dynamism and appreciated the work that was put in to crafting them.

[Sue's Stokvel]

I read this book when I was 18, so take this review with a grain of salt. As a Zimbabwean, I found this book quite interesting because of how the narrator experienced Zimbabwe. The experience was very different from my own. The historical elements of the book and connections to Zimbabwe's independence were some of my first introductions to Zimbabwean history as recorded in literature. I am rating this on behalf of my 18 year old self, I do think I would rate it lower, if I read it today.

[Tinomutendayi Muzondidya]

it was alright

[Cathy]

I read this book because it is written about Zimbabwe's hopeful years, the same years that my husband and I lived there. I recognized many of the characters and places and events. It's an interesting attempt to uncover the causes of the failure.

I'm not sure I would come down as heavy on Mugabe. With that said there is no way anyone can defend his repressive regime. The view of tribalism is too simple I think. The author seems to see it as the misdeeds of Zanu and Mugabe against the innocence of Zapu and Nkomo. One event that I clearly recall is the finding of arms caches that belonged to Zapu, and this episode was not included in the novel. It is a hard story to read but captures the light and hope of the time along with the seeds of destruction.

[Ruthmarie]

Kudos to Kilgore for bringing attention to Zimbabwe and for offering a kaleidoscope of characters--most of them sympathetic despite a variety of political orientations. Yet, there's something about the graduate student/adviser/research project that just doesn't ring true to me, and I spent years in academia, and quite a few scenes and observations are a bit clichéd. It's hard to compete with Peter Godwin, I know, so I will say that I am glad to have read the work and appreciate the focus on a part of Africa that we all too often ignore. One value of the work is its easy presentation of customs and language.

[Ortegast]

Okay not great. An historian goes to Zimbabwe shortly after liberation to write his dissertation on his idol Robert Mugabe but while doing research discovers history is best told though ordinary people not a nation's flawed leaders. Most interesting thing bout book is that it is a first novel written in prison by an ex-Symbionese Liberation Army member who had spent the preceding 20+ years on the run including some spent in Zimbabwe.