Harare North

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

Scotsman

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

Steve Bloomfield, Independent on Sunday

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

Maggie Gee

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

Ali Smith

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

Kate Saunders, The Times

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

Time Out

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

Guardian

Chikwava looks to have few problems hooking the reader

Trevor Lewis, Sunday Times

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

Mary Fitzgerald, New Statesman

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

The Times

Hilarious and terrifying

Sarah Fakray, Dazed and Confused

It's a wry delight

Esquire

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

Observer

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...

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

www.thebookbag.com

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

Emily Firetog, Irish Times

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

Tina Jackson, Metro