a tender and heartfelt book that got my swirled in the story and for such a short time it did such a good job at meeting some important themes and getting to know our character. it was like we got a snippet into a world im glad i got to see.
it has the emotional depth of much longer novels or maybe it was because it was so short that it managed to capture that so much.
this book takes a look at friendships, family and what both takes. it looks to identity and what we feel about ourselves and others. and what shapes us? can that change with place or time? i liked learning more about the culture of Zimbawe some of those things i love learning about so it was right up my street for bonus reasons without even knowing it going in.
it also didn't hold back. which made me stop and think both in good,bad and just thoughtful ways.
im so glad i got to read this book.
and i was left wondering if our main character would be ok or is ok but left to hope she would be and thankful i got to see part of her story.

At a mere 170 pages, Shamiso is a novella, rather than a novel, but its emotional weight and depth belie its page count. It's a coming-of-age story examining identity, the Self, love and the different forms a family can take. Its extensive backstory at the beginning provides insight into Zimbabwean culture, traditions and heritage. It conveys attitudes to white people that, in our supposedly more enlightened times, will strike many Europeans as highly controversial, outmoded and politically incorrect.

The end of the novella feels strangely ambiguous and the reader is left to decide for herself whether Shamiso finds any kind of long-lasting satisfaction or inner peace. Ultimately, the novella is refreshingly different from the existing oeuvre of Bildungsroman fiction.

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

A really interesting and unique coming of age story set in Zimbabwe. It did take me a while to get really invested in the story and I found the pacing a bit slow, but overall I did like this book.

Until now, I don't think I've ever read anything from Zimbabwe, so this was a welcome change. If anyone knows of any editions dedicated to African literature, please let me know. As for the novel itself, I found it neither exceptional nor disappointing. I appreciated learning about aspects of Zimbabwean culture. For example, the language spoken there lacks gendered pronouns, so when referring to elders, Chikwava uses the singular "they" in English. This also makes for interesting reading, as there is also a genderqueer or non-binary character. What bothered me were the characters who came and went without much ado. This made for a rather scattered narrative, or at least it appeared that way to my muddled brain.