The first thing that struck me when reading the novel was the language. It is mainly in pidgin (broken) English but it felt like Nigerian pidgin (I don't know if they speak pidgin the same way in Zimbabwe). As I read I also noted hints of Jamaican patois and cockney. I actually loved the fact that the book was written that way. I also loved Brian Chikwava's description of Britain's cold weather and particularly Brixton (Cold Harbour Lane, the market) - it felt like I was in Brixton.
Harare North is a not-so-pretty book about the psychological pressures of an illegal immigrants life that I would recommend. Please don't be put off by the use of pidgin English (you get used to it after a while) and I think it's one of the many things that make this book. Thank you Brian Chikwava, for giving me yet another reason why I love literature from Zimbabwe :), but there's still one thing I am unsure of - and that is the narrators relationship with his friend, Shingi.
4 out of 5 stars.
