The White Shadow

by Andrea Eames

‘Look after your sister, Tinashe.’When Hazvinei was born, Tinashe knew at once that there was something different about her. Growing up in a rural Rhodesia still haunted by memories of the recent guerilla wars, Tinashe knows he must take extra care of his sister. But Hazvinei is a wild spirit and soon the village starts to whisper – dark talk of curses and spirits. Tinashe is prepared to follow his sister anywhere – but how far can he go to keep her safe when the forces threatening her are so much darker and more sinister than he suspected?

Genres: Zimbabwe, African Literature, Fiction, Literary Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2012

About the author

Andrea Eames was born in 1985. She was brought up in Zimbabwe, where she attended a Jewish school for six years, a Hindu school for one, a Catholic convent school for two and a half, and then the American International School in Harare for two years. Andrea's family moved to New Zealand in 2002. Andrea has worked as a bookseller and editor and now lives in Austin, Texas with her husband.

Reviews

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was utterly taken by this book. Eames' story telling pulled me in, and I just kept turning the pages. It's gritty in places, very sad throughout and yet includes a compellingly strong spirit. The tale is set during Zimbabwe's Second Chimurenga, also known as the Rhodesian Bush War or the Zimbabwe Liberation War (1966-1979), and weaves together the everyday and extraordinary of civil war. The tensions between urban and rural, wealthy and poor, male and female and traditional versus contemporary appear through superb characterization and story telling. It is not an easy tale to digest, but then why should it be when set against such internal strife and brutal,racist colonialism? When I wan an undergraduate one of my favorite courses was "Literature and Revolution" which combined revolutionary settings with some of the greats in literature from Russia, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. If I'm honest, this is one of my favorite 'genres' when done well, and Eames does extra-ordinarily well with this rendition. Do not read it with the expectation of innocence, fairness or redemption -- you will be disappointed. But, if you read it to sense the raw reality, pain and struggle during such fraught, violent times then this is a book for you. I highly recommend it.

[The Bookish Wombat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for £1 in a discount shop and as a result didn't really expect much, but found myself enjoying it. I haven't read many books set it Africa so it was good to move outside my comfort zone with something different.

I enjoyed the close connections of the characters to nature and was interested in the roles of men and women in society, as well as in the political elements of the plot. The main characters Timashe and his sister Hazvinei are well-drawn and realistic, so that I felt really attached to them by the end of the book.

Well worth a read for those who, like me, who tend not to stray beyond Europe in their reading.

[Tami Egonu · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally vivid and beautifully written book. Another great recommendation from a friend.

[Jessica Ahlros · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very weird read. I don't know what to say about it..... It was weird.

[Natalie Awdry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel, but be warned - it's not an easy read! This really could be a feminist icon of a novel. Despite being told from the perspective of Tinashe, a young Zimbabwean boy, it is an incredibly powerful tale of the life of a young woman in southern Africa. The brutal realities of life for women in post-colonial Africa is displayed so dramatically and realistically it was hard to stop turning the pages. I would recommend this to anyone interested in dramatical or historical fiction.

[Stephen Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose the best way to describe the genre of this novel is a Bildungsroman, set in the time of Zimbabwe's Second Chimurenga, forty years ago. Was it as long ago as that? And the author wasn't even born then.

Tinashe is a young Shona boy who grows up in a rural village, ocasionally visited by his rich uncle from the city and his cousin. He dreams of going to school and university, like his uncle, but his cousin doesn't seem to value these things. Tinashe's younger sister, Hazvinei, is strange, and communes with spirits. Her brother, and other people, sometimes find her rather frightening, but he feels obliged to care for her, even when it threatens to disrupt his education.

In some ways it is like an African version of David Copperfield or The catcher in the rye, but it is also bound up with the surreal and unpredictabe world of Shona mythology, where the spirits can make people feel invincible at one moment and dash all their hopes the next.

[Sarah Hackley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sat on my shelf, unread, for far too long. Once I opened it, however, I couldn't put it down. Eames paints a unique and unsettling picture of political, spiritual, and domestic upheaval told through the quiet but compelling voice of a young boy. Tinashe's narrative pulled me through the book, pushing me to care about these children born into a time and culture utterly unfamiliar to me. The dialogue is perfect, the description subtly precise and beautifully portrayed. This is a book I won't forget. Highly recommended.

[!Tæmbuŝu]

KOBOBOOKS

Reviewed by The Independent (12 Feb 2012), The Guardian (27 Mar 2012)

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well crafted read with good tension. As the reader follows Tinashe along his quest to protect his younger sister Hazvinei, the narrative constricts tighter and tighter, until suddenly they, like he, are focused solely on her powerful, dark presence and what misfortune it might bring upon the boy and the world around him.

[Clare Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpected choice, as I haven't read many books set in Africa, let alone in Rhodesia, but it was a good one. I found the narrator, Tinashe, strongly sympathetic: all through the story, he tries to do his best by his challenging family members. Poor boy: I was relieved by the tentative note of hope for him at the end of the book.

[Amy Paulussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into a fascinating bit of Zimbabwean history, told through the eyes of a child, but by no means a children's story. Eames writes from this unique and rarely-heard perspective, and explores so many fundamentally universal social and cultural issues around gender and spirituality and ideas around wealth and power, all in a gritty story about growing up.

[Armen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is set in Zimbabwe and is told from the point of view of a young black boy named Tinashe.
It's "freedom fighters" versus white people and is about colonization.
I am moved by the story and author's writing style.

[Kelly Dombroski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to get totally lost and absorbed in. More fab YA fiction from Andrea.

[Emma Willis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never really got into it, so did not finish it.