Wonderful! | When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa

educational | When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa | Peter Godwin

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	• When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa Peter Godwin Back Bay Books, 2008 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 55 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

a memoir with a surprising twist

This memoir has it all----there is fascinating and horrifying history of the turmoil in Zimbabwe---an in depth look at an unusual b ut recognizsble family- plus a totally surprising revelation about the family background- The b ook is a " good read" and raises many questions---

Wonderful!

This is simply one of the best books I've "read" in many, many years. I first listened to it on tape while I was painting and then ordered this copy for a friend. I would love to pass it along to any thinking person who is curious about Africa -- and why we should be concerned about events on that continent. I think the fact that Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan were denied visas to visit Zimbabwe this week should make everyone concerned about human rights in that country. Peter Godwin's story is personal and riveting -- not to be missed!

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educational

It's always easier for me to learn about an event or situation through the eyes of someone who lived it especially someone who writes as nicely as Mr. Godwin does.

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One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read

I cannot add anything to the superlative reviews already written. Peter Godwin learns his father's secret as the nation of Zimbabwe which is his family home is destroying itself from the inside out. I stayed up until 4 in the morning two nights in a row because I could not put the book down. It is one of very few books that I've read that I want to read again. This beautifully written book about ugly deserves ten stars. It is superior book that I will never forget.

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A Thought Provoking Memoir

When A Crocodile Eats The Sun is a gripping memoir detailing the account of author Peter Godwin and his experiences in Zimbabwe. Set in the time of the brutal regime of Robert Mugabe, his story is one of perseverance and reflection. When his parents refuse to leave Zimbabwe even amongst the brutality and corruption, Peter must learn to understand his parent's decision, even if it may cost them their lives.
Peter Godwin writes this memoir from a very honest perspective. Without incorporating a major bias into his writing, he has managed to craft a factual representation of what happened in Zimbabwe under President Mugabe. He brings to light a very relevant and important issue in our world today, and raises awareness about the horrors of governmental corruption and oppression. He effectively works to show how President Mugabe was a two faced president who often said one thing and did another. "And you could see that this was a man fueled by thoughts of revenge, that he was boiling with public humiliation. How could he, who had liberated his people, now be rejected?...It couldn't be his own people who had done this...it must have been other people, white people, leading them astray" (59.) Peter Godwin not only explains the situation in Zimbabwe, he takes us through the events and thought processes of the leaders to illustrate how it happened. It is a riveting account in which he masterfully weaves the story of the rise of hate against whites and the struggles of his own family, including the failing health of his father. The author struggles with staying true to his homeland and saving his fathers life. "'Dad's life's on the line here,' I say. `The time for political correctness is over. We must get him the best physician'" (18.) He shows here how he finds it difficult to understand his parent's stubborn enchantment with the ways of a third world country. Godwin writes in such a way that we can't help but find his homeland beautiful, even amidst the strife. He helps us to see the position of himself and his family, living in a country where your race could spell either life or death. His sister, Georgina, explains their parents situation well when she says, "if you put a frog in a shallow saucepan of water and heat up the water very slowly, the frog will never quite notice how hot it's getting. It won't actually jump out. Until it's too late. Until it's boiled alive." Godwin's conflicting emotions become more evident when he learns of his father's past, and his experience as a Jew in Nazi Poland. Armed with this revelation, hs attempts to make sense of his family's attachment to a place where being white could cost you your life.
Peter Godwin has created a memoir that transcends the conventional understanding of an account of one's life. He not only explains the problems among his own family, he intertwines them with the escalating violence and political corruption in Zimbabwe. He uses a very personal tone that not only highlights the injustice of the regime of Robert Mugabe, but also draws in the reader into connecting emotionally with Godwin and his family. He has written a powerful and deeply affecting book that helps us to appreciate our freedom, while at the same time painting the story of a family's struggle amidst a very dark and dangerous time in Africa.

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Hailed by reviewers as "powerful,""haunting" and "a tour de force of personal journalism,"When A Crocodile Eats the Sun is the unforgettable story of one man's struggle to discover his past and come to terms with his present. Award winning author and journalist Peter Godwin writes with pathos and intimacy about Zimbabwe's spiral into chaos and, along with it, his family's steady collapse. This dramatic memoir is a searing portrait of unspeakable tragedy and exile, but it is also vivid proof of the profound strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love.

"In the tradition of Rian Malan and Philip Gourevitch, a deeply moving book about the unknowability of an Africa at once thrilling and grotesque. In elegant, elegiac prose, Godwin describes his father's illness and death in Zimbabwe against the backdrop of Mugabe's descent into tyranny. His parent's waning and the country's deterioration are entwined so that personal and political tragedy become inseparable, each more profound for the presence of the other" -- Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon

"A fascinating, heartbreaking, deeply illuminating memoir that has the shape and feel of a superb novel." -Kurt Anderson, author of Heydey

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