The Death of Rex Nhongo

Posted on 21 July 2017 by C.B. George

In Zimbabwe s capital, a gun left in a taxi brings together five marriages in this intricate and tightly plotted novel.This is the story of five marriages and one gun.A British couple wonders at the unknowable city beyond their guarded compound while they build walls between themselves.An American suspects his new home is having an insidious effect on his African queen and their young daughter.An enthusiastic young intellectual follows his wife to the city and finds only disillusion.An Intelligence Officer loses a crucial piece of evidence It will cost him his marriage, his girlfriend, and maybe his life.An impoverished taxi driver and his wife find a gun in the cab From this point on, all their lives are tied to the trigger.In this tender and brutal portrait of Zimbabwe, the betrayals and conspiracies of the corrupt world are nothing compared to those of marriage. Download The Death of Rex Nhongo – kino-fada.fr As a former Zimbabwean, I am always intrigued to come across new fiction from my home country Last weekend, when I came across this book prominently displayed in the local Dymocks store in Perth, Australia, I could hardly believe my luck I brought it home and devoured it pretty quickly.The first point to make about this book is that it has nothing to do with the death of Rex Nhongo At the most, that event provides a backdrop for the story So if you are hoping to read a thinly veiled account As a former Zimbabwean, I am always intrigued to come across new fiction from my home country Last weekend, when I came across this book prominently displayed in the local Dymocks store in Perth, Australia, I could hardly believe my luck I brought it home and devoured it pretty quickly.The first point to make about this book is that it has nothing to do with the death of Rex Nhongo At the most, that event provides a backdrop for the story So if you are hoping to read a thinly veiled account of the circumstances leading up to that event, you will be disappointed The title providesof a thematic sense of contemporary life for many in Zimbabwe, and the novel portrays this in an absolutely mesmerising way We share the lives of a British diplomat and her husband posted to Harare, a taxi driver and his wife and extended family, and a black American who married a Shona woman in USA and brought her home The ongoing current political dramas reach in...The book opens as if it were a work of non fiction with an account of the mysterious death of Zimbabwean ex military chief Rex Nhongo in 2011 That political mystery is a haunting presence in the first two thirds of the novel, as the gun that we may infer shot the fatal bullets, and the shadowy figures who wielded it, appear at unexpected moments, in the back of a taxi, or sitting ominously in a bar But the book reads as a character study of four marriages in contemporary Zimbabwe, each su...The Death of Rex Nhongo is framed as a thriller, but its primary value at least to me is the intimate portrait it paints of Zimbabwe today.The setting Zimbabwe s capital, HarareZimbabwe, as you are probably well aware, is a large nation that lies along the northern border of South Africa It s also one of the most poverty stricken countries on earth despite its abundant natural resources For decades, the country has been ruled by Robert Mugabe, who led its independence movement from the UK The Death of Rex Nhongo is framed as a thriller, but its primary value at least to me is the intimate portrait it paints of Zimbabwe today.The setting Zimbabwe s capital, HarareZimbabwe, as you are probably well aware, is a large nation that lies along the northe...THE DEATH OF REX NHONGOC.B.GEORGE.Review by Ruth Hartley.Author of The Shaping Of Water Matador ISBN 978 1783061 990This is an exceptional novel that in my opinion beats anything written in Africa in the last 25 years Thank you C.B George.It s a hard book, unsparing in its unblinkered account of marriage, relationships and the desperate poverty of ordinary people in the corrupt police state and dictatorship that is present day Zimbabwe, nevertheless it managed to uplift me and make me feel h THE DEATH OF REX NHONGOC.B.GEORGE.Review by Ruth Hartley.Author of The Shaping Of Water Matador ISBN 978 1783061 990This is an exceptio...The Death of Rex Nhongo is called a thriller but it isn t one that is typical It sof a philosophical novel with violence Set in Zimbabwe, it starts with a report of the death of a famous General from the Revolution, Rex Nhongo He has apparently burned to death at a ranch he expropriated In the next instant a gun is found by a taxi driver after it is left in his cab by a drunken government official However, the story is not about him His death just serves as an undercurrent of potenti The Death of Rex Nhongo is called a thriller but it isn t one that is typical It sof a philosophical novel with violence Set in Zimbabwe, it starts with a report of the death of a famous General from the Revolution, Rex Nhongo He has apparently burned to death at a ranch he expropriated In the next instant a gun is found by a taxi driver after it is left in his cab by a drunken government official However, the story is not about him His death just serves as an undercurrent of potential violence.The novel is actually centered around four couples An English embassy worker and her husband, the Zimbabwean taxi driver and his wife, her brother and his wife who works as a maid for the E...This was also reviewed in the Times summer book review It is set in Zimbabwe Courtney and the death of Rex Nhongo is event around which the book revolves, but not core to the plot line The book isof a novel about relationships, cross cultural experiences mostly negative and the stories we tell ourselves about our lives Now I sound like a Nook review Let s just say there isn t a happy ending, but that makes it convincing, for the most part.The Times review pointed out that the au This was also reviewed in the Times summer book review It is set in Zimbabwe C...I received The Death of Rex Nhongo by C.B George as a Goodreads Giveaways winner I loved this book My only complaint is it wasn t longer I could even see this being a 3 or 4 book series, going in depth with all the characters and situations This is a study of human psychology, every character is flawed, most aren t even loveable, and the ...Well written, absorbing and interesting I was totally wrapped up in the lives of British expats, stoic Zimbabweans, and chilling secret police operatives I would have given it five stars but for a slightly disappointing ending The set up begged for a full dramatization of the climax but it did...The Death of Rex Nhongo CB George Rex Nhongo was the nom de guerre of guerilla Solomon Mujuro who led Robert Mugabe s fighters in the Rhodesian bush wars and became Army Chief when Mugabe took power in Zimbabwe One of the most feared men in that benighted country he died in mysterious circumstances in 2011 This book is an imagining of how and why he died The story links a British couple living in an embassy compound...Pretty dismal I ve been on an African reading binge Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria and this was the weakest of the lot The characters are all unlikeable, the plot thin, the pace all wrongjust as it takes ...

English
21 July 2017

C.B. George