A review by taniabotes
The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers
4.0
Truth is always stranger than fiction.
4.5 stars. This is the author’s account of his parent’s extraordinary lives in Zimbabwe. The book provides you with a thorough account and timeline of the country’s descend into hell. What makes The Last Resort so amazing, is that this is done with MANY laugh out loud moments. Because of this I was reminded of my favorite memoir of all time – [b:The Glass Castle|7445|The Glass Castle|Jeannette Walls|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1523542886s/7445.jpg|2944133]. Obviously, we also get to witness the horror, and the last chapters had me anxiously turning pages and swallowing tears.
The cast is quite extensive and super interesting - think diamond dealers, prostitutes, moneylenders, witch doctors and spies (but never portrayed as stereotypes). The true stars of the book are his parents - over 70 years of age - they never lose hope or their love for this country which has taken so much from them. They always remain open-minded, generous and resilient.
If you read only one book about Africa in 2019 make sure it’s this one!!! The only reason it loses half a star is that I really wanted to see some photos.
4.5 stars. This is the author’s account of his parent’s extraordinary lives in Zimbabwe. The book provides you with a thorough account and timeline of the country’s descend into hell. What makes The Last Resort so amazing, is that this is done with MANY laugh out loud moments. Because of this I was reminded of my favorite memoir of all time – [b:The Glass Castle|7445|The Glass Castle|Jeannette Walls|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1523542886s/7445.jpg|2944133]. Obviously, we also get to witness the horror, and the last chapters had me anxiously turning pages and swallowing tears.
The cast is quite extensive and super interesting - think diamond dealers, prostitutes, moneylenders, witch doctors and spies (but never portrayed as stereotypes). The true stars of the book are his parents - over 70 years of age - they never lose hope or their love for this country which has taken so much from them. They always remain open-minded, generous and resilient.
If you read only one book about Africa in 2019 make sure it’s this one!!! The only reason it loses half a star is that I really wanted to see some photos.