Author(s): Stanley Mukuwe

Fiction

Stanley Makuwe was born in 1972 and educated in his native Zimbabwe. He attended primary and secondary schools in the Shurugwi District of the Midlands Province. After finishing school, Stanley trained as a nurse in Harare and then did further training in Mental Health in Bulawayo. He and his wife and family emigrated to New Zealand in 2002. After two years at Auckland Hospital Stanley moved to his present position in the Mental Health Unit at Middlemore Hospital. This set of stories reflects his upbringing in rural Zimbabwe. They are stories of village life at a time of political stress written by an author who has experienced the context at first hand. The stories have a strong African flavour. They are poignantly amusing and sad at the same time. They tell of the social context of village life and reflect the personal experiences of Stanley and his extended family. They are interesting and entertainingly written and will help the reader to enter into the tragic reality which is contemporary Zimbabwe. Makuwe is a Zimbabwean who has been resident in New Zealand for the past three years. Stanley's book does indeed deserve to be read - not just because of its eye-opening portrayal of Zimbabwean village life today, but because it's delightfully and simply written, a surprising pleasure to read "[Author Stanley] Makuwe has a mordant satirical wit and an eye for absurdities ... there is no disguising Under This Tree is a grim read. Powerful, though, and eye-opening." - Sunday Star Times