Dispatches from the Village

In this book, Chris Mabeza takes the reader through a breath
taking journey of the vicissitudes of village life in Zimbabwe from the
colonial days to the present. This, at a time when telling African
stories is enjoying a Risorgimento. Thus, in essence Mabeza “throws his
fingers in the wind” and catches the zeitgeist of African storytelling.
The stories leave the reader spellbound. Dispatches from the village has
its finger on the pulse of the people. This gorgeous collection of
short stories is a product of immersive thick descriptions of rural life
as it intersects with urban life. The author grapples with the effects
of what has generally been observed as the “brutish and nasty new
normal”. The rural landscape has not been spared the vagaries of this
new normal. However, when overwhelmed by the tsunami of negative news
that permeate our media, pick-up Dispatches from the village to soothe yourself.