Description
When eleven-year-old Chimuka and her younger brother Ali find themselves orphaned in the 1990s, it's clear that their seemingly ordinary Zambian family is brimming with secrets: from HIV/AIDS to infidelity to suicide.
Faced with the difficult choice of living with their abusive extended family or slithering into the dark underbelly of Lusaka's streets, Chimuka and Ali escape and become street kids. Against the backdrop of a failed military coup, election riots and a declining economy, Chimuka and Ali are raised by drugs, crime and police brutality. As a teenager, Chimuka is caught between prostitution and the remnants of the fragile stability from before her parents'death.
The Mourning Bird is not just Chimuka's story, it's a national portrait of Zambia in an era of strife. With lively and unflinching prose, Kalimamukwento paints a country's burden, shame and silence that, when juxtaposed with Chimuka's triumph, forms an empowering debut novel.
About the Author
Mubanga Kalimamukwento is a criminal lawyer from Zambia. She is a single mother of two boys and a fellow of the Young African Leadership Initiative and the prestigious Hubert Humphrey Fellowship.
Reviews
From the very first page one is struck by how self-assured the writing is, by the fact that the writer never feels the need to strain for effect or over-explicate the issues involved. The depiction is both unflinching and subtle." - David Medalie, Head Judge of the Dinaane Debut Fiction Award
Book Information
ISBN 9781431429028
Author Mubanga Kalimamukwento
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
Publisher Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
Weight(grams) 290g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 152mm * 13mm
Faced with the difficult choice of living with their abusive extended family or slithering into the dark underbelly of Lusaka's streets, Chimuka and Ali escape and become street kids. Against the backdrop of a failed military coup, election riots and a declining economy, Chimuka and Ali are raised by drugs, crime and police brutality. As a teenager, Chimuka is caught between prostitution and the remnants of the fragile stability from before her parents'death.
The Mourning Bird is not just Chimuka's story, it's a national portrait of Zambia in an era of strife. With lively and unflinching prose, Kalimamukwento paints a country's burden, shame and silence that, when juxtaposed with Chimuka's triumph, forms an empowering debut novel.
About the Author
Mubanga Kalimamukwento is a criminal lawyer from Zambia. She is a single mother of two boys and a fellow of the Young African Leadership Initiative and the prestigious Hubert Humphrey Fellowship.
Reviews
From the very first page one is struck by how self-assured the writing is, by the fact that the writer never feels the need to strain for effect or over-explicate the issues involved. The depiction is both unflinching and subtle." - David Medalie, Head Judge of the Dinaane Debut Fiction Award
Book Information
ISBN 9781431429028
Author Mubanga Kalimamukwento
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
Publisher Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
Weight(grams) 290g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 152mm * 13mm
