Harare Review of Books

288 pages.

Expected publication date: Sept 12, 2023 (W. W. Norton & Company)

Fiction/African SF.

Pulling off a sophomore book is a difficult thing, and this is why: your readers will likely not be pleased if you take a different direction from your debut. And this is probably why I’m both disappointed and intrigued. I loved Tshuma’s first novel, and recommended it to everyone everywhere—because it was the first time I had read a novel based wholly around the 1980s democide in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland province, and so beautifully done, too. In Digging Stars, Tshuma tries her hand at something I hesitantly define as Afro- or Africanfuturism—difficult, because the book is actually set in the recent past, as far as I can tell, and because Afro genres are notoriously hard to pin down.

I enjoyed some aspects of Digging Stars. It dares to imagine a Ndebele man who’s been to Space, who dreams of stars and new worlds and Bantu geometries—to the exclusion, unfortunately, of the woman and daughter who love him. Rosa chases her father through time and space, even after his death, until she must confront who he really was, and who she has been as a result. All of this is lovely, and new to Zimbabwean literature, which is excellent. However, I could not like Rosa for most of the book, could not even find her compelling, and found that none of the other characters could really fill up the rest of the novel.

So, then, this is a tale of the two strands making up the DNA of this novel: the dreaming up of new worlds, which is truly enchanting; and then the story of daughterhood and dislocation, which is far less persuasive. I finally connected with Rosa at the very end of the book (when you read it you’ll know why), which is when we get real insight into her interiority. This is unfortunate, as this is primarily a character-driven novel.

On a more cheery note: Bulawayo readers will enjoy, as we always do, reminders of our hometown (now truly famous in literature). And Zimbabweans will find that many of Rosa’s experiences will resonate with them.

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and to Edelweiss for access to this DRC.