Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers: Travels in Mozambique

by Nick Middleton

Despite the ravages of a turbulant history the author found a resilient country full of integrity and good nature.This is a land of superstition and strange beliefs which clashes with newly introduced Western ideas.

Genres: Travel, Mozambique, Africa, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 1994

About the author

Nick Middleton is a British physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification.

Nick Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to more than 50 countries. Going to Extremes is a television programme for Channel 4 about extreme lifestyles, in which Middleton experiences life in the hostile conditions other cultures must endure. He has appeared on BBC 2's Through the Keyhole.

Reviews

[The Blaxpat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book speaks so closely to my current assessment of Mozambique, so it was a very validating and timeless (sadly so in some ways) read. I agree that Niassa is a very special place, well worth the trouble of getting in and out.

[Karen Menczer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's nice to find a book about Mozambique. That's the best I can say. Middleton can stretch a meeting with a taxi driver or a hotel worker into a chapter, and after each chapter, I had the same reaction, "so what?" Anyone who has traveled anywhere has had similar experiences, but most never write a book; normally, these experiences -including Middleton's, don't seem book-worthy.

[Tim Cowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middleton's work falls squarely into travel-writer material. While the last 1/4 of the book begins to lag and he seems to have trouble knowing how to end the book, I found the first 1/4 fascinating as he works at explaining the history of Mozambique, including the reasons behind the Frelimo-Renamo war. Naturally, he falls on the side of those who see Renamo as simply a rebel organization backed not-so-secretly by rich white countries determined to prevent the further spread of communism in Africa. But it is clear that the atrocities committed during the long civil war were from both sides, though it's the victor who writes the history books.

Still, it truly was a horrible war played out soon after the war of independence from Portugal. In each area Nick travels to, we catch a glimpse of the kind of poverty people face every day. Hopelessness is spelled out in the way the employees of a hotel near Beira, built at the height of Zimbabwean (Rhodesian) tourism, still come to work each day (even though they've not been paid a salary in years as the owners fled to Portugal years before) simply because they have nothing better to do. We learn of the work of NGOs who spent tons of cash, and have nearly as much stolen by employees on the ground or wasted on food gone bad while the red tape holds up life-giving relief.

I learned a lot from this book, both in history and in getting a better understanding of the resilience of the people. His chapter dealing with magic and the spirit world was simply fascinating and also enlightening, though obviously he reports as someone not coming from a Christian perspective but simply trying to understand how the locals do it and what kinds of beliefs begin to go into an African understanding of the world around them.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book filled with critical notes on the aid industry and interesting anecdotes of post-war Mozambique.

[Tomas Chaigneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Plenty of information on Mozambique, its culture and history. Plenty of information presented in a fun and accessible way!