Andrew ChatoraReseñas

Not normally what I would go for but due to the short story format it's an enjoyable and fascinating read. If history is your thing then you'll love this book.

Chatora has a comfortable writing style which explores some challenging themes and topics. I preferred some of his short stories to others, but each left an imprint. Chatora clearly considers his words carefully to get his perspective across and this allows the heart wrenching topics to be handled with respect and deliberation. It took me a while to get through all of them; I needed regular breaks as it is a harrowing read. It might be something to bear in mind if you plan on reading this rapidly.

I receivd this book directly from the author as an ARC. I thank him for that and for taking time to pen the personal note.

I was not sure what to expect from this collection. Sadly, it was not for me. I don't think I am part of the target audience for this. Having said that, the topics are not beyond my experience, I lived and worked in Zambia and West Africa over many years.

The topics covered are important but, for me, were too direct. I felt bombarded. I wasn't expecting to be entertained by the stories but I failed to connect with the characters for the most part.

very much enjoyed the short stories.
All were well written and just the right amount of length to them.

First of all thank you for the signed book with a lovely comment. I applied for this book through early reviewers as I am interested in views and experience of Zimbabwe. I had an uncle (white) who moved to Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in his early twenties during the 1960s with his wife and lived there until his death in 2022. I only met him a couple of times and found him to be an objectionable racist! The rest of my family and relatives are not like this at all, were anti-Brexit, pro-European, are Lib Dem/Labour voters and generally tolerant and kind to minorities of whatever sort. I myself am a woman and disabled and know prejudice and discrimination in this capacity. The stories varied in their appeal and ease of reading. The opening, titular story was engaging and interesting. The stories set in Britain were interesting in that they are spoken in a big city resident voice, a very different experience and quite alien to me as a rural living, white English person! This isn't to say I haven't come across horrible racism, indeed I have vicariously witnessed it first hand such as a doctor I worked with being stopped almost weekly by police because he was a young black man driving a Porche. I found "Fari's Last Smile" both interesting and moving and liked the dual setting of Britain and Zimbabwe of this story. This book is a really good way to learn more about life in a social science way rather than via a text book but if you are after an entertaining story then this won't be for you.

A collection of short stories are almost always a mixed bag of chips and it`s the same this time as well. Some of the stories almost feel like a draft of a longer writing while others are fully immersive. I particularly loved the story of the Covid nurse.

This collection of short stories from a Zimbabwean writer is a mixed bunch but all share and angry polemical voice that seriously impacted my enjoyment. Some stories here are pure polemic dressed up as short stories and some, especially the final set of linked stories are well wrought and moving.

By the time I’d finished reading this collection of dark and often extremely disturbing short stories I felt I’d not only gained huge insights into the challenges faced by each of the characters, but also gained a deeper understanding of conditions in Zimbabwe. The author used his well-drawn characters to effectively explore the many examples of racism (both institutional and ‘casual’), prejudice, bigotry, oppression, misogyny, discrimination, sexism, political corruption, social and educational disadvantage which people from the Zimbabwean diaspora are having to contend with. As each story is told through the prism of passionate, forceful and often angry language, pulling no punches about the realities of the experiences being faced by the characters, it’s impossible to read them without gaining a greater understanding of what it must feel like to have to face these challenges. Whilst it is, of course, impossible to be able to ‘walk a mile’ in another person’s shoes, I found that the author’s intensely powerful storytelling helped me to gain greater empathic insights, something I always appreciate in my reading experiences. However, because of the frequently heart-wrenching nature of the stories, I needed to take a break between them in order to process my thoughts and feelings about them, as well as to reflect on the fact that my ability to step back is not something individuals facing these real-life challenges ever has the ‘luxury’ of doing … a salutary reminder indeed.
My thanks to the author for sending me a signed copy (a LibraryThing win) in exchange for an honest review. I know that the impact of these stories will stay with me for a long time and I have no hesitation in recommending this important collection to anyone who is both open to gaining new insights into different cultural experiences, and to being prepared to examine their own assumptions and prejudices.

Inside Harare Alcatraz and Other Stories was generally well-written, but the style was not necessarily to my tastes. The writing leaned more towards a straightforward academic style that felt impersonal compared to what I tend to enjoy in fiction.
Some of the stories, such as the titular “Inside Harare Alcatraz,” were carried by subject matter or perspectives I found interesting, despite not connecting with the writing style. For example, the titular “Inside Harare Alcatraz”— which follows an agent of a fascist dictator who turns his back on the regime after befriending the dissidents he was sent to interrogate and murder— falls into this category. Others, however, didn’t have much new or intriguing to offer in those departments and left me struggling to get into them or lost me along the way. It was a mixed bag overall, for me.

Inside Harare Alcatraz & Other Short Stories - 7/10 - An interesting and unique set of short stories that each grab and keep your attention for the full duration of the tale. Interesting take on many different challenging aspects of society which felt raw in each story. Particularly enjoyed the stories based in Zimbabwe which provided a brief insight into the cultural differences between Zimbabwe and Britain.

As I received this book as a review copy, I tried really hard to like it, or at least to read it to the end, but ultimately I couldn't wade through it and bailed at 25%.

The subject matter of political corruption and systemic oppression are things I'm interested in reading about, but try as I did to ignore the "idiosyncratic" vocabulary, grammar and syntax, it was too prominent an issue for me to get past. So, 4 for intention, 1 for style, round it up to be generous, and it's 3 stars for what I read, but that was enough.

I think this short story bundle has a lot of potential but the stories just didn't really appeal to me as much as I hoped. The stories seem to be a bit basic and explored the very relevant themes in a surface-level way; I was hoping for a lot more depth. My favourite story was probably 'Smoke and Mirrors' and generally I found the stories in the latter half to be more interesting. I'm not sure if that's because I got used to the general style and themes.

I would love to read a novel from the author as I think I would enjoy seeing how he develops characters and plots in more space.

Some stories are easier to tell/write than others. Andrew Chatora definitely had his job cut out for him when writing "Inside Harare Alcatraz and other Short Stories"! This gem of a book is extremely well written. It delves into the topics of racism and sexism that are not always easy to read about. The various characters are as diverse as the stories that are told. Of the eleven short stories, "Why Don't You Use Shona Names?" was my favorite. Sadie, a teenage daughter, asks her father why he does not use Shona names, since he is from Zimbabwe and believes in preserving one's culture heritage and identity. Her father, with sadness, decided that it was time to give Sadie a reality check. The father eloquently describes how names have a greater currency. That ethnic names in other countries may be considered the "wrong names", causing discrimination. The father then provides his daughter with stories based on the lives of Jamal, Hassan, Aisha, and a nameless BAME (black, asian, minority, ethnic) student from England. So amazing, as a teacher, I would use this short story as a great introduction to one of my social studies units for middle school and high school students alike.

This collection of stories starts with a secret policeman being sent to infiltrate a prison in Zimbabwe and ends with a discussion of institutional racism in the UK. In between those two things there are good people, bad people, a whole bunch of tough questions about how people should act in a whole bunch of different situations, some legal and some not, and a lot of issues caused by people confronting governments that don't look out for the interests of their citizens, including such monstrous incidents as the Windrush scandal and the Grenfell tower fire.