Far From Home Review

Title:  Far From Home

Author: Na’ima B Robert

Release Date: 1^st August 2011

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Katie and Tariro are worlds apart but their lives are linked by a terrible secret, gradually revealed in this compelling and dramatic story of two girls grappling with the complexities of adolescence, family and a painful colonial legacy.

14-year-old Tariro loves her ancestral home, the baobab tree she was born beneath, her loving family- and brave, handsome Nhamo. She couldn’t be happier. But then the white settlers arrive and everything changes – suddenly, violently, and tragically.

Twenty-five years later, 14-year-old Katie loves her doting father, her exclusive boarding school and her farm with its baobab tree in rural Zimbabwe. Life is great. Until disaster strikes and the family are forced to leave everything and escape to cold, rainy London.

This book brings an emotional side to recent historical events in Zimbabwe. It is very moving and beautifully written.

Tariro thinks her life is perfect and then suddenly her life is thrown into turmoil with the reallocation of her family’s land. Her plans to marry Nhamo are shattered after he is brutally attacked after defending Tariro. Without revealing too much of the plot, things go from bad to worse for her and her family.

Twenty five years later, we are introduced to Katie’s family. Once again, she feels her life is perfect until she is uprooted from her home and sent to England. Dealing with issues of racism, abuse and the importance of belonging, Far From Home is a beautiful but at times uncomfortable read giving two different sides of what we find out to be the same story.  In a weird twist we discover how Tariro and Katie’s tales are intertwined, how one man can be both evil bully and loving father and how love can conquer all. Both Tariro and Katie have to deal with horrific events that are not within their control and this is why what happens to them is so frightening.

The introduction of Tariro’s language is a really nice touch and adds another dimension to her culture and character. The first person accounts of Tariro and Katie show their different characters but also ally them with one another. They may be born years apart (and in terms of culture, worlds apart) but they are also both teenage girls having to deal with change and with the fear of relocation.  The ending of the novel brings surprises as well as a brilliantly written moralistic conclusion by Tariro’s daughter, Tawona. Not only this but I found the ‘Timeline of historical events in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe’ really useful as well as interesting.

Even if this isn’t the type of book you would normally read, I would definitely recommend it for the strength of emotion it portrays. The novel also analyses how real people are affected by events made by governments across the world and the moral is as relevant today as ever.

5/5 A definite challenging, emotional ride, will leave you wanting to know more about the history behind the story.

Special thanks to Frances Lincoln for sending me a copy of the book.