Fearless Fighter by Vera Chirwa

Reading Vera Chirwa's autobiography brought to life some of the events surrounding the transition from Nyasaland to Malawi. She describes the beginnings of self rule, the hopes and the struggles of the people, and the jealousies and intrigues surrounding the key players, particularly Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, her husband, Orton Chirwa, other Malawian politicians such as Aleke Banda, Masauko Chipembere, John Tembo, Gwanda Chakuamba and so on. The main focus of her book is on the kidnapping, imprisonment, trial and death sentence of her and Orton, and the abuse and suffering they faced in prison. It describes the death in suspicious circumstances of her much loved lawyer husband, and her life as a free woman who sees her role as being one to criticise the government in order to keep them on track.

The book is simply written in a generally chronological, descriptive and matter-of-fact way, and Vera comes across as being very active - appropriate, since she is an activist. Some random quotes:

"'How can I forget you, when we suffered together?' I asked, and went out to form the League of Malawi Women."

"He thought that he was going to make fun of me, but the stupid man did not know that I was a woman activist. As a barrister you are trained to carry yourself in a very proper manner and I continued unmoved by his rudeness."

"When I came out of prison, I was encouraged more or less immediately to stand for President ... But I was weak and felt it was madness to run for President so soon after 12 years in prison. When nominations were up I deliberately left the country. ... In 2004, I thought the time was ripe."

Vera describes studying for her law exams while pregnant, and giving birth on one of the days in between her exams. The examiner has to chase her driver away from the exam hall when her newborn's crying disturbs Vera in one exam. You do get a sense of a woman who does not let things like pregnancy, birth, child rearing get in the way of fighting for the human rights of all Malawians, and women in particular. She is obviously a determined woman, a fighter, as she describes herself. Occasionally, she seems a bit too good to be true! But, overall, it was very interesting hearing about this time in Malawian history from another point of view, and from the perspective of someone who was intimately involved at the time.

The Freedom Writers Diary by the Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell

I really enjoyed this selection of diary entries written by teens from the Bronx and other such places. Their teacher, Erin Gruwell, discovered in her first year of teaching that many of her difficult students had never heard of Anne Frank and her diary. When she shared it with them, they found similarities with their own lives: and the idea of writing a journal to share their hopes and fears with was born. In her second year of teaching, Erin shared the journal of a young girl from Bosnia, Zlata, and the students were so encouraged by this that they decided they wanted to meet her. And so began an inspiring journey that lead the majority of Erin's students to being the first in their families to go to college. On the way, they met Zlata, Miep Gies, other Holocaust survivors, and many others who would encourage and inspire them. The diary entries in this book are all anonymous, and through them we learn not only about the life-changing meetings with the people mentioned above, but also about the daily trials and tribulations the teenagers face in their daily lives. All have experience of friends, family or acquaintances being shot, they experience racism or the effects of the schisms between different races in their communities, they write about the poverty or the violence they have to content with in their homes and they reflect on their relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends, families, and other students.

This was a really eye opening and inspiring read, especially for a teacher teaching in an inner city school. I'm glad I encountered it in an independent bookshop - it caught my eye as I stood in the doorway, the first book I was drawn to, and I'm glad I picked it up and bought it!

Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

... Also known as Bobo.

Quite a bizarre book, really. I actually read and finished it a while ago, about the middle of July. This is the memoir of a girl growing up in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia, with a family who want to live in a white-run African country, and who are seeing that desire falling around them. The palpably racist views of Bobo's parents are presented without reflective comment or discussion; however, the book does not become unreadable or unbearable. Bobo's parents obviously suffered personal tragedies, losing two children and descending into, at least in her mother's case, apparent alcoholism and depression. The stories told are presented in a vaguely chronological order, but they are presented as titbits rather than as a coherent whole. I should point out that I have enjoyed the book, and have found many of the stories very interesting. It is just told in a rather unconventional way. Which makes a nice change, of course ... Just a bit bizarre at times! I would like to read more from her at some point.