Book review: Far From Home by Na'ima B Robert

The history of Zimbabwe is not one with which I am much familiar. Of course, the tyranny of President Mugabe and the mistreatment of white farmers is never far from the reach of the media. But since the media is not to be trusted when it comes to unbiased information - or at least less biased information - I have been pretty ignorant of the history of this country.

Unlike her previous novels about Muslim teens growing up in a British society, Na'ima B. Robert's latest work tackles the last fifty years of history of what is now known as Zimbabwe. In Far From Home, Na'ima gives the world a new perspective of Zimabawe's history, not only by writing from a native's point of view, but also from the coloniser's view. 

The first half of the story is told by Tariro, a 14 year old blooming with youthful beauty in her ancestral home where her father is the chief and her people work the earth to make their living. Tariro is in love and is soon to be married to brave, handsome Nhamo. Everything seems perfect until the white settlers arrive and violently force them out of their homes and off their land. Tariro loses everything and her life is changed forever. 

The second part of the story is told twenty-five years later by 14 year old Katie who lives a happy life in rural Zimbabwe on her father's farm. But when the black freedom fighters begin reclaiming their land, Katie and her family are forced to leave their home and escape to London. Although Katie and Tariro live in two different worlds, their lives are linked by a terrible secret and when they finally meet face to face it exposes a painful colonial legacy.

It's hard to place Far From Home: although it's clearly not a YA novel - some of the themes are unsuitable for younger readers - I can't quite label it as 'adult' fiction. I can't place it next to the likes of, say, Chimamanda Adiche, because the plot, the story line and the writing style is far too simple to compare to other postcolonial writing. I'm not saying, however, that this is a bad thing. Na'ima's writing is different, and for a good reason. I actually really enjoyed Far From Home, especially because of it's simplicity. It makes her story accessible to all readers, adult or teenager, whether a reader of more literary fiction or not. Especially in a world that is not familiar with the turbulent history of Zimbabwe. 

Na'ima writes the story well: the words flow and she engages the reader's emotions perfectly - I'll shamefully admit I shed a few tears during the course of the book! Na'ima also achieves what I believe is one of the most important skills of writing: there is such a conciseness to her story-telling that I actually read almost every single word and I still finished the book in twenty-four hours. Normally, when I read, I find myself skim-reading lengthy, descriptive passages that to me seem pointless and feel like the author is just showcasing their writing skills.   

The indigenous culture and way of life that Na'ima portrays in Far From Home feels very authentic and natural. It's a little romanticised, even utopian, but I guess it needed to be in order to show what the people lost. 

The first part of the story was probably the best part, in my opinion. Tariro is a strong, passionate and energetic girl that the reader really warms to. I would say that her character is strongest in the first half of the story; the second half is not as satisfying because it's quite predictable. I wasn't able to empathise with the character of Katie as much, probably because she seems much weaker than Tariro. But perhaps that was the point - it's much more difficult to be able to see from a racist, colonialist perspective. I do rate Na'ima for writing Katie's story, however, as it made me at least empathise with Katie's confusion and her ignorance. It balanced out the story. 

But ultimately, as Na'ima suggests at the end, the story belongs to the native people, those whose voices and histories are being suppressed by Western media. But it is also not just about the native people and justice anymore; Far From Home ends with the hope of a fresh start, that Zimbabweans - whether black or white - can understand each other and live in peace together. 

As much as I liked Far From Home, I didn't find the ending satisfying as you don't see a confrontation scene that you've been waiting for since early on the novel. I think I would have loved Far From Home more had it been a tad more tragic at end (I'm such a masochist!) but I guess Na'ima needed to end on a more positive note in order to suggest that there is still hope for Zimbabwe. 

Overall, Far From Home is definitely a novel I'd recommend, particularly for the many of us who don't know Zimbabwe's history and appreciate history told in a simple, less biased manner. 

Have you read Far From Home? What did you think?