Shamiso - by Brian Chikwava (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Zimbabwean girl meets gender-fluid Afro-Brit boy. They can't stand each other but fall hopelessly in love, before being traumatised into separate paths by their mutual prejudices.

Shamiso is a young girl, thoughtful but uncertain, taken by her family from rural Zimbabwe to bustling Harare. As she grows up there, she watches the world: her distant, stern father, her angry stepmother and her father's strange, loving cousin, the elderly Jimson, who encourages Shamiso to discover her passion for art, her place in their family, and her voice in the world.

When she takes a leap to leave Zimbabwe behind for Brighton, England, Shamiso must find a new family and a new way of living. There she falls in love for the first time with George - whose female identity, Georgie, is everything Shamiso has ever wanted or needed. But can such happiness last, when neither of them knows yet who they truly are?

Quirky, challenging and mischievous, this tender coming-of-age story brilliantly examines selfhood, love and the many shapes family can take. From first moments to final steps, Shamiso is a thought-provoking, blazing work of modern existence and all its contradictions.

Review Quotes

"A globe-trotting coming-of-age story . . . Audaciously told . . . There is often an admirable audacity in Chikwava's original prose style - drily funny in its pinpointing of British racism; sensually imagistic in its capturing of juvenile scrapes in Harare"-- "Guardian"

"An intimately told, raw love story between a Zimbabwean girl and a gender-fluid British person marks author Brian Chikwava as one to watch . . . Chikwava is a master of brevity . . . Shamiso is dazzling, exhilarating, funny and sharp"-- "The Skinny"

"Chikwava's engaging, musical prose flows with an effortless quality . . . Chikwava has crafted an engaging exploration of artistic passion, cultural displacement and the courage required to pursue dreams in unfamiliar territory"-- "Straits Times"

"Shamiso is a jewel of a novel that dazzles with ideas on migration, grief, love, time, language and meaning, so economically written that repeat reads are not only rewarded but demanded. It's a pleasure to read a novel in which such care and consideration is given to each word, each moment"--MENDEZ, author of RAINBOW MILK

"Shamiso is marvellous. Chikwava dazzles with fresh, inventive prose in this quirky coming-of-age tale about a young woman who straddles multiple identities. A novel full of humour and originality. Outstanding"--TENDAI HUCHU

"A blueprint for the hope of true liberation. Laden with insight. Right through the novel's fascinating cast of characters, one is repeatedly stunned by Chikwava's descriptive eye [and] cunning wit. For all the laughs it carries, Shamiso is steeped in pride and is an important and timely book"--NII AYIKWEI PARKES

"A spare, propulsive tale that boldly vaults beyond convention. Shamiso is captivating and utterly original, a vivid reminder of the capacious possibilities of storytelling"--TOPE FOLARIN

"Brilliant. Combines the thrill of propulsive plot with a remarkable eye for dazzling description and imagery. A rare combination which we as readers should treasure"--ANDREW McMILLAN

"Chikwava gifts us a compelling story of self-discovery, identity and belonging. He writes with such precision and wit that every sentence lands like a well-aimed arrow - sharp, purposeful and impossible to ignore. The novel is a sheer delight to read"--CHIKA UNIGWE

"Chikwava's fresh and fearless voice is here again: Shamiso sparkles. In this coming-of-age story, it is as if all life forms were connected and fluid in their existence and within this nicely played slippage, he pinpoints how we live, love and move now"--DELIA JARRETT-MACAULEY, Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing

"I was utterly captivated by Shamiso. With prose lucid as water, Chikwava gives us one of the most unforgettable characters in recent memory. She's flesh and blood on the page, all I can ask for, and it's as rare as it is beautiful"--PETER ORNER

"Propulsive, frenetic and tonally inventive, Brian Chikwava's coming of age novel, Shamiso, examines the various ways biological family serves as our very inspiration, encouraging us to spread our wings even as it intermittently attempts to draw us back in"--CHINELO OKPARANTA

"Witty, inventive and sensual"--ABDULRAZAK GURNAH, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

About the Author

Brian Chikwava is a London-based writer and author of Harare North, longlisted for the 2010 Orwell Prize for political writing. His short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by Picador, Granta, Weaver Press, Jacana, Umuzi and has been aired on BBC Radios 3, 4 and the World Service. He has held fellowships at Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (South Africa), the University of East Anglia (Charles Pick Fellowship, UK), the Santa Maddalena Foundation (Italy), Maison Dora Maar (France), Civitella Ranieri Foundation (Italy) and Marguerite Yourcenar Villa (France). Brian won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2004 with his short story 'Seventh Street Alchemy'.

@BrianChikwava