"Who will bury you?" or the more common "Who will take care of you?" are questions often asked in Zimbabwean culture when it's believed that you have reached the time for marriage. The question carries a weight of expectation that makes marriage less a choice and more a must.
While many find it inappropriate, even more feel they have a right to ask it and be answered. The question is one that gives birth to opposing views, and cultural conflict. A sentiment that underlies the storytelling in this collection.
Although the title of just one story, Who Will Bury You? aptly captures the essence of Chido Muchemwa's storytelling in her debut collection. The anthology is a reflection on grief and loss that interrogates Zimbabwean culture, all while diving into the country's past - both recent and distant.
"I HAVE BURIED MY father every night for the last fifty-seven days. When I fall asleep, I see myself standing with my mother by his open grave. Baba is lying in his white casket, in the grey suit he wore to my graduation, his navy-blue tie askew like always. The casket begins to sink into the ground, but it’s still open..." - an excerpt from If It Wasn’t for the Nights
Although 12 short stories that are individually whole, Who Will Bury You? reads like a complete novel in the emotion it carries. It has a recognition of the humanity of it's characters, even when it explores folklore in stories like Finding Mermaids and The Captive River. The pacing of Chido's storytelling almost never changes, and once the hook sinks in at the beginning, there's no leaving a page unturned.
At the centre of half the collection is the Zimbabwean diaspora and it's relationship with the place it still sees as home. The individual relationships with loved ones left behind, and the relationship with Zimbabwean culture. In this collection there is a world building that sees one story laying the foundation for the one that comes next.
The subject of sexuality is a major theme in Who Will Bury You?, This Will Break My Mother's Heart and If It Wasn't for the Nights; and instead of the usual stories of pain or defiance that often characterise queer identity, Chido let's the characters just be. People with otherwise simple lives that encounter the complexities of love and not living up to our parents dreams.
The collection also touches on the unresolved issues in the construction of Lake Kariba, the story of the river god Nyami Nyami, the pursuit of wealth through crime and what ordinary indigenous people had to endure during the liberation struggle.
"Hiding Gari was not intentional, at least not at first. One late afternoon in 1977, after the cows had come home, eight Vakomana came into the village, three of them holding rifles. They gathered all of us in the middle of the village, then asked every boy who was fifteen and over to step forward. At that point, we had already lost many of our sons..." - an excerpt from The Last of the Boys
The lens of fiction is used to explore cultural, religious and an extent colonial (then and it's remnants) violence from the perspective of survivors. In each tale Chido Muchemwa's storytelling is heartfelt and the words carefully chosen.
Who Will Bury You? is a book that sits with some of the best offerings from not only Zimbabwe but the African continent. It's rich storytelling and balance of emotional intensity bring reflections on how we see ourselves and our culture. Poignant and thought provoking, a must read for any fan of literature.
Title: Who Will Bury You? & Other Stories
Authors: Chido Muchemwa
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: House of Anansi Press
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