When It's Your Turn for Midnight

by Blessing Musariri

This is a beautifully written novel that explores the complexities of family bonds, both biological and found. After an explosive quarrel involving her parents and sisters, 15 year old Chianti runs away to stay with her feisty grandmother in the Zimbabwean border town of Mutare. Chianti becomes part of the colourful daily life of a close-knit group of elders, who are busy dancing, drinking and running their upcycling business. As she pieces together parts of her family’s past, Chianti begins to understand about the traumas that were forged when they fought together in Zimbabwe’s liberation war, and the difference between secrets and things that people choose not to talk about.