Far from Home (review)

Two narratives of life in Zimbabwe come together in this British import. Tariro, growing up in Zimbabwe after her country declares its independence from Britain in 1965, suffers atrocities during the white government’s removal of her black community to the “Native Reserves.” After being brutally raped by a white overseer, Tariro joins the revolutionary rebels in their fight against the white colonial oppressors. Decades later, Tariro finally regains her family’s land in 2001 due to black president Mugabe’s support of “resettlement,” in which black Zimbabweans took back (sometimes forcefully) ownership of lands from white settlers. The land that the now adult Tariro reclaims is currently the home of fourteen-year-old white Zimbabwean Katie Watson, and Katie, raised to despise blacks, must come to terms with a tremendous fall in privilege after having grown up with all the advantages of a white farmer’s daughter in Zimbabwe. Katie’s father is also Tariro’s rapist, and she gradually tries to reconcile the strong, loving father that she knows with the lies he has taught her about her right to her elite status. Although it is sometimes challenging to keep straight Robert’s large cast of characters, Tariro’s and Katie’s story threads are compelling and the overlapping plot is gripping. Particularly chilling are small moments in which both Katie and Tariro see through the façade of white male privilege, Tariro as she faces Watson and his cronies, and Katie as she observes the casual violence of her young adult male cousins. While there’s a touch of didactism here, especially in the closing chapter in which young Katie and adult Tariro meet, this is a strong and overall remarkably nuanced look at a piece of history unfamiliar to most American teens.