ANCESTORS

by Chenjerai Hove (Picador, 195pp, R45,99).

Written in the African oral tradition, Ancestors is this Zimbabwean author's lyrical invocation of Gotami, the father of all things, without whom there would be no memory, identity or even life.

• "If you insult the ancestors of the land, even by mistake, snakes, monkeys, the soul of the soil, they get angry with you," warns the narrator.

Though Hove seems to accept the necessity of respecting one's ancestors, he also mourns the loss of the essential oneness with the world that is marked by this initiation into the laws of the land. : "The hills of their youthful memories did not smile at them any more that morning. It was time they walked away and did not look back and admire what was not their own."

The long journey of life is symbolised by a train journey, and the narrative ranges seemingly haphazardly between past and present, to emerge at the end as a superbly controlled story.

It describes the plight of Africa - especially of its women - and suggests a solution in the reconciliation of African tradition and Western progress. One cannot prosper without work and knowledge, it says, but one also cannot move forward without always returning to one's heritage.

But this does not imply that Hove is uncritical of either African tradition or Western progress.

His central character is a deaf and dumb girl who is married off to an old man. She haunts the narrative and becomes a tragic reminder of the injustices of traditional societies.

In a gentle, lyrical tone, the narrator advocates the education of women and their right to marry the men they love, if they wish to marry at all.

Hove's is a courageous voice criticising an African society which holds that men should marry as many women as they can afford and that women have a duty to provide their men with free work and unlimited offspring.

The white man, too, comes in for criticism for stealing the black man's land and forcing him to work on it for profit. But Western progress is seen also as a positive influence on Africa.

This as a post-colonial novel in which black people regain control over their lives and destinies. It is also a great love song which celebrates the eternal cycle of life.

By: Anette Horn