Brian Chikwava's follow-up to his 2009 debut Harare North follows teenage Shamiso from post-independence Zimbabwe to Brighton. The novel opens with her receiving a pendant of Nyami Nyami, the River God, from her elder relative Babamukuru Jimson. This talisman symbolises her mixed path from girlhood to womanhood and her contrarian nature.
Set in a Zimbabwe fissured by suspicion and social unrest, Shamiso is abandoned by her unstable mother and lives with her remote father, a former soldier. Her creative yearnings are nurtured by Jimson, a self-taught artisan. She eventually gets the chance to study art at the University of Brighton in England, where she navigates campus life and post-graduation struggles as a sculptor in London.
The novel's Bildungsroman structure relies on encounters with educative characters, like the vivacious Jimson and non-binary George. However, the portrayal of George and the relationship between them feels underdeveloped. The reviewer notes that George is described as a 'terrific human being' but the writing fails to convey their charisma, and the romantic relationship blurs in and out of focus.
The disjointed shape of the novel is also criticised; it could have benefited from more fleshing out, particularly to enrich the relationship between George and Shamiso. The odd pace and proportions attest to Shamiso's own admission that she 'cannot hold a thought in [her] head for longer than five seconds'.
