Review: Zimbabwe is dying. Robert Mugabe who began his presidency by helping to stimulate the economy and providing a foundation for rapid growth now cripples his country. White farmers are driven off their prosperous farms and into exile or hiding while Mugabe uses them as scapegoats to cover his own failings. War veterans set up camp on properties, harassing, beating and occasionally killing blacks and whites alike. Caught in the middle of this crisis, Peter Godwin illustrates the tragic downfall of his homeland.

His successful career in journalism has moved him from Zimbabwe to London and then, finally, New York. He transits between the two in order to keep an eye on his aging parents who continue to live in the country they call home. Each time he touches down in Harare airport his situation becomes increasingly tenuous and desperate. During these trips he learns that his father has a secret past, that the driven man with the clipped British accent and stubborn tenacity is not really the man he knows. While Zimbabwe is caught in maelstrom of political and social he turmoil, he is swept up in his own personal storm. The history of his father becomes intertwined with the unfolding history of Peter’s home country, and the two stories provide a rich context for understanding the current situation.

Recommendation: This is the third book I’ve read about Africa recently. The first was reviewed here (What is the What), and the second was the The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency about a fictional female detective in Botswana. Of those two, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was the least depressing. And maybe depressing is the wrong word. After reading When the Crocodile Eats the Sun, I felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

Here is a leader, Robert Mugabe,  driven by power and greed to lead his country into desperate times. What makes the situation appear so daunting is the breakdown of social systems. As Mugabe’s war veterans take over farm after farm and displace the workers and owners, there are no police to fight against the unjust actions. They claim that “it [is] a ‘political’ matter beyond their jurisdiction”. Even the police are scared. Since the police do nothing, people must take their own action to protect what they have worked for, and the dominoes begin to fall. Farm owners are killed. Their employees are killed, raped, threatened, beaten and terrified.

George Godwin, Peter’s father, has been a kind and fair employer his whole life. He treats his employees with respect and dignity, but even that gets taken away from them by the war veterans. They force one of his retired employees, a sweet and decent woman named Mavis, to demand payment for her services, though she has been paid generously all her life. Finally, George is forced to admit that “this is extortion” and although he “has never given a bribe in his life, for whom bribery is anathema, who believes that the briber giver is just as morally corrupt as the briber”, he must give in or face certain retribution. This is what humanity is reduced to.

The story of Peter and his family and of their experience in Zimbabwe is powerful and humbling.  Peter’s role in this country is also in conflict, and the reader can sense that Peter struggles internally with his decision to leave.  There are many people unbalanced by the ongoing troubles.  Some benefit enormously and some do not.  We only hear about the happenings through Godwin, and the narrations all bear traces of tragedy.  I wonder whose stories would not.  My heart aches for those caught in the midst of this crisis. Even now, as I read articles online about Zimbabwe’s state, I have hope that the things can turn around. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently released a 500 billion dollar note in an effort to keep up with the swift-rising inflation. Bush ordered new sanctions to be placed on Zimbabwe to help fight political violence. Mugabe has agreed to talk with Morgan Tsvangirai about sharing power in an effort to heal the country.

Godwin, Peter. When the Crocodile Eats the Sun. Back Bay Books, 2008, New York.

Currently Reading: City of Thieves by Daniel Beinoff

On Deck: American Gods by Neil Gaiman