Title: Diaspora Dreams
Author: Andrew Chatora
Publisher: Kharis Publishing, Kharia Media
Release Date: 25th March 2023
BLURB from Goodreads
Diaspora Dreams is Andrew Chatora’s debut novella. It details the life and struggles of Kundai Mafirakureva, a Zimbabwean immigrant living in the United Kingdom. When Kundai departs a failing Zimbabwe for the greener pastures of England, he is convinced that his luck will immediately change. Yet what he finds in the UK convinces him that all that glitters is not always gold.
Chatora takes us on a journey that acquaints us with Thames Valley, where Kundai must negotiate his place and his voice in a world where African men are not welcome.
Set against the backdrop of petty classroom squabbles that constantly remind Kundai of his lower status as an immigrant, Diaspora Dreams exposes the tensions of working in the diaspora. The pressures of Britain also bear down on Kundai’s family and relationships, threatening, in the words of du Bois, to “tear his soul asunder.”
REVIEW
I enjoyed learning about Kundai's family culture and traditions, in fact I would have loved more of that type of thing in the book. I also really liked the way Kundai stood up to the school bullies that belittled him because of his race trying to prevent him gaining the pay rises he should have been given almost automatically. It sounds like Kundai had a great rapport with his students it's a shame his personal life ended up preventing him from continuing his career. Two of his wives attempting to blacken his name by claiming he was violent towards them. His life and interaction with women just went from bad to worse.
Though I enjoyed some parts of the book there were other parts that felt out of place and overly drawn out. The last chapter was very confused and rambled on a lot. It's almost as if the book still needs some finishing/polishing. It just feels slightly 'off'.
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