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There are currently 20 member reviews
for House of Stone
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Barbara C. (Fountain Hills, AZ)
Zimbabwe - House of Stone
This is an historical fiction novel wrapped in a mystery. The narrator is a manipulative, self serving character who proves himself duplicitous in his final acts. He is desperate to have himself adopted into a family, as that family's history slowly reveals itself. The chaos of a nation undergoing revolutionary change is painfully and visually described. As a freshman writer, Tshuma writes with clarity, compassion, fervency, and dark humor. The reveal as to what happened to Bukhosi is heartbreaking, and proves that the initial distasteful character of the narrator proves correct. The book was hard to read in some areas, and rather difficult to get into because of the foreign names and words, but as I became familiar with the characters and the cadence of the book, just read along with the flow of ideas and plot .
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Peggy H. (North East, PA)
Slow start...good finish
I admit...it took me a while to get into this book. I was not as aware of the politics and history covered in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia but it begs me to learn more. The characters unfold slowly and thoughtfully as we learn the genesis of their current beings...all scarred and joined together in ways they either don't want to know or want to remember. It is haunting to read this in a world that continues to be so cruel and savage.
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Portia A. (Monroe Township, NJ)
Wow!
This is a book that will stay with me for a long time...the author’s use of language is as intriguing as the the tale she tells. There are parts of the story that will cause bad dreams, but history is messy. Read it if you are able, just don’t blame me for sad nights.
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Lynn W. (Calabash, NC)
House of Stone
The story line is a mystery wrapped in the history and culture of Zimbabwe. Throughout the book I found myself researching many of the words, people and history of this country. This was a good read and it was also a learning experience. The characters are well drawn and it is often darkly funny and sad.
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Diana P. (Schulenburg, TX)
House of Stone
I rarely find a book that I can not get into within the first 50 pages. I wanted so much to like this book but even after 100 pages I just wasn't getting anywhere. I am anxious to read other reviews to see what I am missing.
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Barbara O. (Red Bank, NJ)
A Mystery set against History
Reading House of Stone was a challenge. The author uses the mystery of the missing son, Bukhosi, against the backdrop of the fall of Rhodesia and the bloody birth of Zimbabwe. Zamani, a foster son of Agnes and Abednego will do whatever it takes to learn the family history as he insinuates himself into the Mlambo family's story. It's a dark story filled with rape and massacre, dreams and secrets almost an allegory-of the birth of Zimbabwe after the civil war and riots of a people taking back their story and country once ruled by colonialists.
I enjoyed the storytelling but did find it difficult to follow the story line and the characters. I would have preferred a more direct history telling using the same characters. I hope this author continues to write.
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Joan P. (Owego, NY)
House of Stone
I have mixed feelings about this book. The history of Zimbabwe is marked with bloodshed and violence and this novel explains the many factions involved in the fight for independence. Told by the people who lived this nightmare, it was very intriguing. The main characters were trying to forget the past but Zamani, the narrator, used scheming and manipulation to find the past hoping to have a hi story of his own. A good premise but I found it difficult and confusing with flashbacks, too many individual stories and a multitude of minor characters. It was a wordy mixture of modern cliches, classical, mythological, religious references and rambling sentences. Not my cup of tea.
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