Harare Review of Books

180 pages.

First published on Jan 30, 2023 (Iskanchi Press)

Genre: Fiction anthology.

João Melo is a writer, journalist, poet, and Angolan government official (!). In this skillful collection of stories in various forms, from stream of consciousness narratives, to short vignettes of life in Luanda, to wry asides, Melo proves himself the author’s author of post-colonial literature.

Themes in the book include Portuguese colonialism, war and trauma, refugee life, “race”—with its implied caste system, and post-colonial politics, with that institution’s seemingly inevitable corruption. My favourite story, the title one—Angola is Wherever I Plant My Field—feels like the true summation of the whole collection: a man, displaced, disaffected, and bereaved, leaves the past behind, and looks to the future in the refugee camp that is now his home.

Melo’s stories are about the failure of liberation/independence to bring a better life for Angolans, something most post-colonial Africans can relate to. There are big-bellied men, and young people living on the street. There are women in precarity, and there is violence. But there is also much humour: the Portuguese women who are demanding government support to rescue their men from the seductive clutches of Angolan women. The intrepid Nordic engineer who eats market food. The war of wills between a priest and the man with scores of children.

This was a quick and enjoyable read. Melo’s style tends towards wordiness, and the wryness does become a bit much, sometimes, but this is still a recommended read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Iskanchi Press for this ARC.