Monday, March 26, 2012

Mini-Review: The Hairdresser of Harare




The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu
Genre: Cultural (Africa)
Pages: 196 (ereader)
Source: Author
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:
Vimbai, the self proclaimed number one hairdresser in Harare is livid with jealousy when the good looking, smooth-talking Dumisani joins the esteemed Mrs Khumalo’s Hair Salon and snatches the number one spot. Against her better judgement Vimbai soon falls under his infectious charm not knowing that Dumisani holds a shocking secret, one that will turn her views of the world upside-down. The Hairdresser of Harare catapults us into the world of Zimbabwe’s elite society, where stereotypes and prejudices are as abundant as the lavishness. It tactfully tackles the issue of homosexuality that most African literature shies away from.

My Rating:
From the beginning, I was drawn into this story.  I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Zimbabwe and the struggles of the post-revolution country.  The glimpses into the people and how they cope with difficult times was truly fascinating.  But the real story involved Vimbai and the unfolding relationship with Dumisani.  Dumi's secret becomes pretty clear half-way through the story but it doesn't ruin the story; it merely drew me in more as I wanted to know how things would unfold.  I was quite disappointed with the ending as I felt that it was abrupt and didn't tell me anything about the ripple effects of Dumi's actions.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this read and really enjoyed both the insights into the culture and the drama within the story.

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17 comments:

  1. I LOVED this book. I read an article from a UK paper about it a few years ago & was sad that it wasn't available in the US (at the time). The author found my comment and offered to send me the book. I would love to see this made into a movie or a series. It was absolutely fascinating.

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    1. I would definitely love to see this one in a series. I loved learning about Zimbabwe.

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  2. Sounds good, and, hm, now where have I seen this one? A library? I just do not know

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    1. I'm not sure but if you run across it you should give it a quick read. Well if you don't buy it first.

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  3. Sounds interesting. It would be cool to peak into the culture of Zimbabwe and how regular folks are making their way. I'm also curious to know how all the events play out, especially if Dumi's secret is what I'm guessing it is. I wonder how that culture deals with such things and how accepting (or not) they are of it. Great review.

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    1. Not very accepting. Lol. But definitely learning about Zimbabwe culture in such an interesting way was amazing!

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  4. This sounds like a really interesting book and the topic is very current.

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  5. interesting! what's the secret? you can tell me. :)

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  6. This sounds like a fascinating book and completely contemporary. Thanks for the review!

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  7. Definitely sounds like my kinda read. On my list it goes.

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  8. I've always wanted to visit Zimbabwe, and reading about it would probably only increase my desire. I hadn't heard of this book before, but it sounds good despite the rather abrupt ending.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure if I want to visit. Lol. But I'm even more curious about Zimbabwe after reading this book.

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