A review by mandyist
House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-Torn Zimbabwe by Christina Lamb

5.0

This is one of the best books I have ever read.  It is riveting and nearly impossible to put down.  I would highly recommend it.

House of Stone is written by Christina Lamb, an English journalist.  In the opening passages I wasn't too sure if I trusted this author yet as I thought she was exaggerating (this is the scene where she describes a city's main market as reduced to rubble).  I then turned the page to see a photograph depicting the rubble and it was there that my hesitation and disbelief dissolved.

The author takes the life story of two very different Zimbabweans and she chronicles this against the backdrop of the major political events of the past 45 years. She also interweaves the history of Zimbabwe dating back over a hundred years, to when the country was first colonised.  The protagonists are a white educated male born into a wealthy farming family and a poor black female with only a primary education who hailed from an underprivileged rural background.

The book is incredibly informative and yet it is never laborious or dry.  This is a book that took me through a range of emotions from shock and horror to disbelief and sadness.  I thought I had very strong beliefs about Zimbabwe before I read this book.  I thought I had a very politically left position on matters there and I was convinced Mugabe was an evil man and that gross human rights violations were taking place.  The truth is that I had no idea and that my mind could not have even conceived how bad things really are there.  The point is not to discuss my politics but that knowledge is power and I would urge everyone to read this book so that they too can get an idea of what is going on in Zimbabwe and once armed with the truth, they can act accordingly.