Starting with Amber Brown and moving on to anything by Meg Cabot, then the wide world of magical brilliance in Harry Potter, to historical fiction and now politically driven memoirs. Books are great and are a wonderful escape.
When I was in school, I always looked forward to the summer because I actually had the time for pleasure reading! And now that I am no longer in the process of being formally educated, I have all the time in the world, muhaha world domination. One of the activities that I've been focusing on, besides planning scrupulous plots of revenge and writing to-do lists, is reading!
I read a ton this summer, all good stuff and have read a few great books recently. I would love to discuss them all because that would be fun. Instead I will stick with writing fabulous things about my new favorite author, who I recently discovered: Peter Godwin.
I took a class during my semester in London on the politics of Sub-Saharan Africa that interested me very much. After that class I was intrigued to learn more about the enigma that is Africa. Also, my British/Australian professor pronounced Uganda as Ugander, always entertaining.
I saw a blurb about a book called The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe in People magazine. As we all know, People magazine consistently features the most intelligent articles on societal matters to inform the public on issues that really affect us! Ugh, like the relationship status of George Clooney and Stacy Keibler, this is a weird one that frankly I can not support, come on George. Or tells us that Bradley Cooper is definitively the sexiest man alive.
So whatever, I followed People's advice and I thank them because this book was fantastic.
The Fear not only fulfilled my fascination with Africa but illustrated the incredible courage of one man, Peter Godwin, who at some points put his life in danger to report what was really happening, and countless others who stood up and probably still stand up to the tyrannical dictator Robert Mugabe and his minions. Injustices are expertly written about in this memoir that follows Godwin's travels back to the place of his childhood, Zimbabwe.
The book centers on the events leading up to and after the 2008 elections in Zimbabwe which Mugabe and his party ZANU PF (Zimbabwe African National Union, Patriotic Front) lost to the opposition candidate for the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) Robert Tsvangirai (hmm how do you pronounce that?). However, Mugabe refused to concede and called for a run-off election. Terrifying violence and corruption ensued. As of now Zimbabwe has a coalition government with Mugabe as president and Tsvangirai as prime minister, from all accounts it seems this setup is simply a namesake, with Mugabe still holding all the power.
Godwin's writing can not be characterized as simply a retelling of political events, rather, it is storytelling. I so enjoyed this book. I blabbed about it to everyone.
I also read another book of his called, When A Crocodile Eats The Sun. This is a poignant account of Godwin's frequent visits back to Zimbabwe to care for his ailing parents. It is a more personal story and equally as engaging as The Fear.
Read them!
And check out Peter Godwin's website at http://petergodwin.com/
Or follow him on Twitter @PeterGodwin.
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