The Death of Rex Nhongo

Pretty dismal. I've been on an African reading binge - Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria - and this was the weakest of the lot. The characters are all unlikeable, the plot thin, the pace all wrong...just as it takes a more positive direction towards an interesting denouement, the book just ends. It's as if the editors decided that they had enough of a story at that point. It all ends very abruptly with unlikely outcomes for virtually every character. A disappointment.

I’m not fond of books that unsettle my thoughts as I read them, so this book isn’t my favorite, but it’s realistic theme about life in present-day Zimbabwe makes one aware that being unsettled financially and emotionally is an everyday experience for Zimbabweans. Rex Nhongo doesn’t play a big part in the book, but the gun that killed him does. It’s the connecting point for several different lives.

If you enjoy a book with short chapters, (4-6 pages) where the action varies chapter to chapter from one of five different couples to the next as it progresses, you might like this work by C.B. George. I did not. In fact, the only redeeming grace was the short chapters. I usually read a book within a few days, 'The Death of Rex Nhongo' took me 15 days to complete. I'd read a chapter and invariably I would immediately set it down. It was not compelling, not entertaining or enlightening, and I found the story lines were drawn out well past the point of making for interesting reading. I got through it, it was a chore, but I read every last page. Sadly, upon completion the summation of my thoughts on this book was: So what? As time is show more finite it is helpful to note there are more entertaining stories out there written by more entertaining authors. Don't waste your time on this one.... show less