Harare Review of Books

275 pages.

First published Oct. 6, 2022 (UK), Jan. 31, 2023 (US) (Footnote Press)

Non-fiction.

I took my time over this gem of a read from Ladipo Manyika. It is an unusual book, featuring a mix of interviews, reflection (or “encounters,” as the author refers to them, with people and their work), and memoir. Among the literary luminaries: Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Claudia Rankine, and Margaret Busby (my always-favourite). Other famous people: Evan Mawarire, Zimbabwean pastor and hero, whose interview broke my heart; Xoliswa Sithole, South African (and Zimbabwean-raised) filmmaker, an interview I very much enjoyed for its bits of history; Cory Booker, the US Senator who seems the very embodiment of hope and vision; and Henry Louis Gates Jr., historian and a man whose youthful travels managed to intersect with one of the most amazing periods in African history.

This is a very thoughtful and grounded book, centred on Manyika’s own documentary sensibilities, and her connection to these people. In that sense, it reads very much as her memoirs, a feeling reinforced by her fascinating and otherworldly account at the end of the book of her travels to the South Pole (so interesting as well for the women she met on that trip). I will admit to reading very closely for the Zimbabwean connections–something entirely unintended when I started reading, but Zimbabwe is a very small country, and she inserts things that will mean something to many Zimbabweans, also unintended on her part I’m sure. Undoubtedly, my positionality brought something extra to my thoughts on the book; however, this is still a wonderful read for what it is.

Thank you very much to Footnote Press and to NetGalley for access to this very enjoyable book.