Books by Blessing Musariri
Blessing Musariri is an award-winning author of short stories, children’s stories, radio and screenplays and contemporary adult fiction. She currently resides in Zimbabwe. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in various anthologies including Sunflowers in Your Eyes, Women Writing Zimbabwe, Writing Free and Writing Lives. Her work has been published by the Guardian, Granta, Poetry International, and her poem “Holding On” was read out on the BBC World Service Christmas Special 2005.
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.
Interviews with Blessing Musariri
The Best African Novels, recommended by Blessing Musariri
“We are connected to the spirit and it’s an active connection. It’s not somewhere that’s only in the afterlife, it’s here in the present as well. That, I think, is endemic across all African cultures and traditions,” says Zimbabwean novelist and poet Blessing Musariri. Here she recommends some of the best African novels, books that had a big personal impact and have stayed with her.
Interviews where books by Blessing Musariri were recommended
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1
When It's Your Turn for Midnight
by Blessing Musariri -
2
Our Beautiful Darkness
Ondjaki, António Jorge Gonçalves (illustrator), translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann -
3
Where the Heart Should Be
by Sarah Crossan -
4
The Djinn's Apple
by Djamila Morani & translated by Sawad Hussain -
5
Seven Days
by Rebeka Shaid
The Best Books for Teens of 2024, recommended by Our Children's Editor
The Best Books for Teens of 2024, recommended by Our Children's Editor
From a love story set in Angola to a Hunger Games-style thriller, from the medieval Middle East and 19th-century Ireland to the world of artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, we’ve picked our favourite books for teens and young adults of 2024.