When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa
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After his father's heart attack in 1984, Peter Godwin began a series of pilgrimages back to Zimbabwe, the land of his birth, from Manhattan, where he now lives. On these frequent visits to check on his elderly parents, he bore witness to Zimbabwe's dramatic spiral downwards into thejaws of violent chaos, presided over by an increasingly enraged dictator. And yet long after their comfortable lifestyle had been shattered and millions were fleeing, his parents refuse to leave, steadfast in their allegiance to the failed state that has been their adopted home for 50 years.Then Godwin discovered a shocking family secret that helped explain their loyalty. Africa was his father's sanctuary from another identity, another world.WHEN A CROCODILE EATS THE SUN is a stirring memoir of the disintegration of a family set against the collapse of a country. But it is also a vivid portrait of the profound strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love.
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Zimbabwe during the past thirty years seems to have been a miserable place to live. Inflation caused prices of even the most basic items and services to soar. The government instituted a program where white-owned farms were taken over by black farmers, leaving the white farmers without a home and without a job. Looting was commonplace. Riots were commonplace. Medical services were overwhelmed, especially with AIDS patients. Election fraud was rampant.
Despite all these problems, Godwin's parents continued to hope that things would change for the better. They did not.
Godwin's memoir of the years he spent outside Zimbabwe, yet with close Zimbabwe connections, tells the story of a bleak world. It left me thinking about decisions people make to stay or to go when the world around one seems to be steadily spirally down. How does one decide? And if one does decide to stay, are there things that can be done to improve the situation?
