Peter Godwin, een bekroond buitenlands correspondent en auteur, creëert meeslepende verhalen die diep geworteld zijn in zijn uitgebreide wereldwijde journalistieke ervaring. Zijn werk duikt voornamelijk in het ingewikkelde weefsel van conflicten, menselijke veerkracht en politieke omwentelingen, vaak gesitueerd tegen de achtergrond van Afrika, het continent van zijn opvoeding. Godwin's kenmerkende stem combineert scherpe observatie met diepe empathie, en biedt lezers een scherpe en ontroerende verkenning van diverse culturen en uitdagende realiteiten.
A poignant, beautifully evocative, savagely violent memoir in the tradition of My Traitor's Heart. Rhodesia, 1946: A small boy witnesses the death of his neighbor, murdered by guerrillas, marking the beginning of white rule in Africa. Now, Peter Godwin, the witness to that murder, has written a vivid and moving account of growing up in a colony rapidly collapsing into chaos.
Hailed by reviewers as "powerful," "haunting" and "a tour de force of personal journalism," When A Crocodile Eats the Sun is the unforgettable story of one man's struggle to discover his past and come to terms with his present. Award winning author and journalist Peter Godwin writes with pathos and intimacy about Zimbabwe's spiral into chaos and, along with it, his family's steady collapse. This dramatic memoir is a searing portrait of unspeakable tragedy and exile, but it is also vivid proof of the profound strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love. "In the tradition of Rian Malan and Philip Gourevitch, a deeply moving book about the unknowability of an Africa at once thrilling and grotesque. In elegant, elegiac prose, Godwin describes his father's illness and death in Zimbabwe against the backdrop of Mugabe's descent into tyranny. His parent's waning and the country's deterioration are entwined so that personal and political tragedy become inseparable, each more profound for the presence of the other" -- Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon "A fascinating, heartbreaking, deeply illuminating memoir that has the shape and feel of a superb novel." -Kurt Anderson, author of Heydey
The narrative revolves around Peter's emotional struggle as he faces the impending loss of his mother, a once dedicated doctor in Zimbabwe, now bedridden in a London home. The shift in her accent reflects both her deteriorating condition and the complexities of identity. As Peter navigates this poignant moment, themes of family, cultural dislocation, and the impact of illness on relationships emerge, highlighting the profound connection and tension between past and present.
In mid-2008, Robert Mugabe, ruler of Zimbabwe, lost an election. But instead of conceding power, he was persuaded to launch a brutal campaign of terror to cower his citizens. This title tells a dark story of Africa's corruption and violence, that is populated by characters whose lives have been shaped by what Zimbabweans call the Fear.