Ebook240 pages4 hours
Hamba Gashle
By Ian Hassall
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this ebook
Hamba Gashle is the inside story of white society in colonial Southern Africa during the 1950s and 1960s. Ian Hassall's edgy memoir provides a vivid and disturbing depiction of childhood and family life against a background of racial exploitation, political change and the disintegration of his white community. Written as a diary from childhood through to early adulthood, the deceptively simple style provides a sense of immediacy, building a vivid picture through apparently unconnected events. The child narrator arrives in Northern Rhodesia from England aged four. Soon after, his parents divorce and he is fostered for several years. His mother marries an anti British Afrikaaner who is a strong influence on the boy. As a teenager he becomes delinquent and fails at school. He moves with his father's family to Rhodesia as it is approaching UDI. The narrator has developed anti-racist views and joins the protest movement at university in South Africa. Finally he returns to London in 1970, alone, a stranger.
Ian Hassall produces a rich and informative picture of this period, honest, critical and unflattering, attacking its racism. The work is carefully researched so that key historical events are portrayed accurately and intimately. The youthful narrator's preoccupations, adventures, sexual encounters and daydreams contrast with more sober political observations, sometimes hilariously. This is also a study of childhood, and a celebration of youth which transcends time or location.
'Hamba Gashle' means both chameleon and take it easy, because of the animal's leisurely pace. The book's title reflects the author's admiration for this wonderful creature and its attributes, some of which he required to survive his upbringing.
Ian Hassall produces a rich and informative picture of this period, honest, critical and unflattering, attacking its racism. The work is carefully researched so that key historical events are portrayed accurately and intimately. The youthful narrator's preoccupations, adventures, sexual encounters and daydreams contrast with more sober political observations, sometimes hilariously. This is also a study of childhood, and a celebration of youth which transcends time or location.
'Hamba Gashle' means both chameleon and take it easy, because of the animal's leisurely pace. The book's title reflects the author's admiration for this wonderful creature and its attributes, some of which he required to survive his upbringing.
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Reviews for Hamba Gashle
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
4/5
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the memoir of the author from the age of 3 to 22. He was born in England, but at the age of 4, his parents decided to move to Africa, a land of prosperity for whites at that time. Over the years, as our narrator grows up, he must come to grips with racial inequality and social injustice as he survives the divorce of his parents, the subsequent blending of step-families, fitting in with peers, and all the challenges of education, dating and finally college and finding his place in the world. By the end of this journey, opportunities for whites have diminished as more and more jobs are "Africanized," and he returns to England, a virtual stranger in the very place where he was born.I found this story fascinating. Through simple diary format, the author is honest, at times brutally so, and he always considers both sides of the issues. "Hamba Gashle" means "chameleon" and also" take it easy," as he learned through the years to blend in and make peace with whatever changes occurred around him.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys coming of age stories and also to anyone who enjoys learning about different cultures and exploring political philosophies.I received a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
Book preview
Hamba Gashle - Ian Hassall
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