Brian Chikwava

A debut novel at once lyrical and gritty, offering an unsentimental view of the African immigrant experience in London's Brixton

It's the darkest of comedies, fuelled by an eccentric, wholly convincing voice

An hilarious and wrenching examination of immigrant life... From a prodigiously talented and uncompromising writer

Chikwava has created an utterly compelling anti-hero... Mesmerising

A writer to watch. Brian Chikwava's language is lively and witty and it turns the London you know upside down

Page by page, line by line, Brian has created a perfectly original and true narrative voice. ..Full of surprises, delicious little tics, and real fire-in-the-belly creativity ..but importantly, the voice comes off as effortless, and therefore true....it's a major accomplishment

Tod Wodicka author of All Shall Be Well...

Chikwava's sharp irreverent levity...Harare North's wit and suggestiveness'

a shocking indictment of the way we treat those who come here seeking a better life

Chikwava looks to have few problems hooking the reader

Chikwava gives his anti-hero an unforgettable voice; a fine balance between tragedy and comedy

Chikwava's unreliable narrator is animated with an unforgettable voice in this poetic and tragicomic tale

This fantastically energetic debut offers a dark, funny vision of the underbelly of London populated by illegal immigrants...Harare North's politics are subversive and cynical and Brian Chikwava's sharp style draws attention to the meanings not just behind the euphemisms that cloak human tragedy under Mugabe's regime but the hypocrisies found in England's capital

Chikwava has a distinctive style, a complex mix of grit and humour with a voice that is persuasive enough to unsettle the reader and force them to uncomfortably inhabit 'the other' and (somewhat guiltily) reassess certain assumptions

The narrator is an astute observer of London immigrant life. Chickwava can be funny as well, finding humour in the worst situations

The comedy ranges from wry to very earthy, while the strikingly poetic use of African-derived imagery gives the novel much more than just a 'generic immigrant' feel... Harare North was a joy to read and comes highly recommenced for all in search of original voices in modern fiction

When he lands in Harare North, our unnamed protagonist carries nothing but a cardboard suitcase full of memories and a longing to be reunited with his childhood friend, Shingi. 
 
He ends up in Shingi's Brixton squat where the inhabitants function at various levels of desperation. Shingi struggles to find meaningful work and to meet the demands of his family back home; Tsitsi makes a living renting her baby out to women defrauding the Social Services. 
 
As our narrator struggles to make his way in 'Harare North', negotiating life outside the legal economy and battling with the weight of what he has left behind in strife-torn Zimbabwe, every expectation and preconception is turned on its head. 
 
This is the story of a stranger in a strange land - one of the thousands of illegal immigrants seeking a better life in England - with a past he is determined to hide.

Brian Chikwava

Praise for Harare North

A debut novel at once lyrical and gritty, offering an unsentimental view of the African immigrant experience in London's Brixton

It's the darkest of comedies, fuelled by an eccentric, wholly convincing voice

An hilarious and wrenching examination of immigrant life... From a prodigiously talented and uncompromising writer

A debut novel at once lyrical and gritty, offering an unsentimental view of the African immigrant experience in London's Brixton

It's the darkest of comedies, fuelled by an eccentric, wholly convincing voice

An hilarious and wrenching examination of immigrant life... From a prodigiously talented and uncompromising writer

A debut novel at once lyrical and gritty, offering an unsentimental view of the African immigrant experience in London's Brixton

It's the darkest of comedies, fuelled by an eccentric, wholly convincing voice

An hilarious and wrenching examination of immigrant life... From a prodigiously talented and uncompromising writer

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