Review of Chipiwa's Cry
1 posts
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chipiwa's Cry" by Peter Prinsloo.]
Chipiwa’s Cry by Peter Prinsloo is more than just a love story. It blends love, family, racism, education, politics, and war in a way that keeps readers curious and eager to read to the last chapter. The book put me through it. I found myself laughing one minute and angry the next, and a few parts actually hurt. The characters weren't living in easy times. With everything going on around them, every choice they made felt bigger and more serious.
The book follows Paul and Chipiwa, two young people from completely different backgrounds. They first meet on a farm and later meet again at university. Chipiwa comes from a poor family; her parents were Black farm workers. Her uncle, her education, and her experiences with harassment, violence, and the Special Branch are what helped her to become tough and independent. Paul has money; he came from a rich family, but his dad won't get off his back. He kept pushing him to join the army. The whole thing weighs on him. Paul chooses to defer his military service so he can complete his engineering degree, which causes a serious rift between him and his father. As Paul and Chipiwa fall in love, racial segregation is becoming more intense and violence is spreading across Rhodesia. Their relationship eventually becomes caught up in the country’s political and military conflict, forcing them onto opposite sides of the war. The ending really broke me because Paul is eventually sent on a mission that would change everything.
I respected him for going against his father. But some of his choices later made zero sense to me. Randle frustrated me with his extreme views and stubbornness. Samantha made me feel bad; she was caught between her husband and her kids constantly. Leonie was the worst; she made me angry with how she treated Chipiwa. I feel she was jealous and a racist, plain and simple.
One thing I like about this book is how it shows the effect of political conflict on normal people. I felt emotional because some scenes were very difficult for me to read, scenes like Chipiwa and the villagers showing how innocent people could be victims of political violence. I really like Paul and Chipiwa together. Their relationship was my favourite; they went against everything people believed back then about race and class. Their talks about school, segregation, and freedom made the book more than just a romance. My only dislike is that some parts felt repetitive and should’ve been shorter. Furthermore, some scenes felt like the characters were explaining information to readers. Even with that, I couldn’t put it down.
Peter Prinsloo writes really descriptively, but it’s still easy to read. It never felt heavy. It gave me a vivid imagination of the farm, the university, the pubs, and the different places where the story took place. I liked how the book got darker once Paul got pulled into the war. By the ending I was so tense and on the edge. You could feel something bad was about to happen. But I was honestly not ready for how it ended; it broke my heart. The editing is mostly good, although I mentioned some parts felt repetitive, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I didn't find any errors while reading, and I understood the whole story.
Overall, I am giving Chipiwa’s Cry5 out of 5 stars. What got me most was Paul's and Chipiwa’s relationship. The world was against them, and the war made it worse. I actually cared about what happened to them, but not the ending. For readers who like historical fiction, this book is a good pick for them and also for anyone who likes books where the personal lives of the characters are closely tied to the history happening around them.
******
Chipiwa's Cry
View: on Bookshelves |
Chipiwa’s Cry by Peter Prinsloo is more than just a love story. It blends love, family, racism, education, politics, and war in a way that keeps readers curious and eager to read to the last chapter. The book put me through it. I found myself laughing one minute and angry the next, and a few parts actually hurt. The characters weren't living in easy times. With everything going on around them, every choice they made felt bigger and more serious.
The book follows Paul and Chipiwa, two young people from completely different backgrounds. They first meet on a farm and later meet again at university. Chipiwa comes from a poor family; her parents were Black farm workers. Her uncle, her education, and her experiences with harassment, violence, and the Special Branch are what helped her to become tough and independent. Paul has money; he came from a rich family, but his dad won't get off his back. He kept pushing him to join the army. The whole thing weighs on him. Paul chooses to defer his military service so he can complete his engineering degree, which causes a serious rift between him and his father. As Paul and Chipiwa fall in love, racial segregation is becoming more intense and violence is spreading across Rhodesia. Their relationship eventually becomes caught up in the country’s political and military conflict, forcing them onto opposite sides of the war. The ending really broke me because Paul is eventually sent on a mission that would change everything.
I respected him for going against his father. But some of his choices later made zero sense to me. Randle frustrated me with his extreme views and stubbornness. Samantha made me feel bad; she was caught between her husband and her kids constantly. Leonie was the worst; she made me angry with how she treated Chipiwa. I feel she was jealous and a racist, plain and simple.
One thing I like about this book is how it shows the effect of political conflict on normal people. I felt emotional because some scenes were very difficult for me to read, scenes like Chipiwa and the villagers showing how innocent people could be victims of political violence. I really like Paul and Chipiwa together. Their relationship was my favourite; they went against everything people believed back then about race and class. Their talks about school, segregation, and freedom made the book more than just a romance. My only dislike is that some parts felt repetitive and should’ve been shorter. Furthermore, some scenes felt like the characters were explaining information to readers. Even with that, I couldn’t put it down.
Peter Prinsloo writes really descriptively, but it’s still easy to read. It never felt heavy. It gave me a vivid imagination of the farm, the university, the pubs, and the different places where the story took place. I liked how the book got darker once Paul got pulled into the war. By the ending I was so tense and on the edge. You could feel something bad was about to happen. But I was honestly not ready for how it ended; it broke my heart. The editing is mostly good, although I mentioned some parts felt repetitive, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I didn't find any errors while reading, and I understood the whole story.
Overall, I am giving Chipiwa’s Cry5 out of 5 stars. What got me most was Paul's and Chipiwa’s relationship. The world was against them, and the war made it worse. I actually cared about what happened to them, but not the ending. For readers who like historical fiction, this book is a good pick for them and also for anyone who likes books where the personal lives of the characters are closely tied to the history happening around them.
******
Chipiwa's Cry
View: on Bookshelves |
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