Book Review – The White Shadow

by Andrea Eames (Random House) Price ISBN 9 781846 555695

The White Shadow is set in a small rural village in Zimbabwe, and I would suggest that, unless you have had that experience, this will be a difficult book to understand.

The guerrilla war of the ‘60s haunts the bush lands but doesn’t touch the small schools and villages. The knowledge of this war was worldwide but the actual facts were not seen by anyone living away from the war of that time.

Tinashe, a Shona boy is thrilled when his tiny sister, Hazvinea, is born. He knows there is something special about her, and spends his life trying to protect her from harm. They have a rich Uncle who lives in town who occasionally visits the family with his son, Abel. Abel becomes embroiled in both the Shona spirit world, and the political turmoil of the nation.

Tinashe will go to any lengths to protect his sister but how can he compete with dark and sinister forces that are threatening her.

The reason for the book being written is not clear and I came away feeling empty and wondering if I had missed the point. I’m afraid I found this book hard to recommend.

Dee Andrew
1/5