Book Review: When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin

As South Africa enters a very uncertain phase in her history, the relevance of "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin" should be obvious. When live on a continent where uncertainty is the norm and Godwin's book may be a foretaste of what is to come in South Africa.

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With the land issue in South Africa making news around the world and the prospect of the same mistakes being made here as was made in Zimbabwe weighing heavily on many of us, the future does not seem bright.

"When a Crocodile Eats the Sun" is a sequel to "Mukiwa, a White Boy in Africa". It is a heartfelt and moving account of Peter Godwin'sreturn to Zimbabwe. It captures the disintegration of a society and the ebbing of his father's life. It also recounts a startling revelation about his antecedents and how this all weaves into a tapestry of life in Zimbabwe 15 years ago.

He tells this story with a straight-forward factual style without undue sentimentality. It's a book about brutality and courage, of a father's unwillingness to leave his home and a memoir of a life that became all to common in Zimbabwe. I find in it a warning of history repeating itself. It is a brilliant book and comes highly recommended.

Peter Godwin
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Peter Godwin is a n author, journalist and filmmaker he now resides in Manhattan with his wife Joanna Coles.