Shamiso by Brian Chikwava
The narrative of Shamiso is a deeply textured exploration of identity, the lingering trauma of war, and the complexities of “third-culture” existence, shifting between the dusty villages and suburbs of Zimbabwe and the rain-slicked streets of Brighton and London. Narrated by Shamiso, a woman who begins her story “obese with grief,” the book serves as a meticulous accounting of her past and her evolution from a stuttering child in a fractured home to a self-possessed artist in the diaspora. The Legend of Jimson: The Root of the Family Tree The story’s foundations are built upon the mythic and tragic figure of Jimson, Shamiso’s Babamukuru (paternal uncle). The narrative begins at a village borehole, where Jimson overhears a man named Shadreck spreading rumors that Jimson’s mother has become a witch. The allegation that she walks naked at night, sitting on men’s chests to pour potions into their mouths demands blood in the traditional code of the village. Jimson and Shadreck meet on a granite hill at dawn to settle the score with knobkerries. Jimson arrives with only a puppy named Mapenzi (a name chosen to spite neighbors), while Shadreck brings a small army of kinsmen. The fight is brutal and swift; …