Browsing the shelves of my nearest Schuler’s Books, I came across the reader’s group table. One title in particular caught my eye. It wasn’t the bold neon yellow typography used, or the pumpkin orange and violet cover that warranted a closer look. Instead it was the need to satisfy my literary hunger, by finding out what does happen when a crocodile eats the sun.
About one third of the way through journalist, Peter Godwin’s captivating memoir, and my question would be answered. “When a Crocodile Eats the Sun,” published in 2006 by Back Bay Books, is a worth-while read, that gives a compelling account of Zimbabwe, and a journalist who only in his later life begins to understand his father, and why he won’t leave the country he loves.
Set in modern day Zimbabwe, Godwin takes us on a journey through his self-discovery, and also one of a nation in turmoil. Not only is Goodwin’s Zimbabwe suffering an aids epidemic, but also a race war, and battle for democracy. He shows us how he starts out as an African journalist, travels the world, only to find out he longs to be nowhere but his own home.
“When a Crocodile Eats the Sun” contains more than dates and historical mumbo jumbo. Godwin uses imagery intertwined with African folklore to paint the reader a portrait of the characters and places in his memoir.
He says, “The celestial crocodile… briefly consumes our live-giving star as a warning that he is much displeased with the behavior of man below.” It is this analogy Godwin links the appearance of two solar eclipses in the course of a year to Zimbabwe’s internal conflict. Godwin is also dealing with a personal struggle, when he learns his father has been hiding a secret that changes his life forever.
His father is actually a Polish Jew, who lost his mother and sister in the Holocaust. This explains his parents’ reluctance to leave the home they have known for fifty years. As a white Zimbabwean, Godwin compares his father’s struggle in the Holocaust to living in the Zimbabwe they now know.
“When a Crocodile Eats the Sun” is a complex read that takes perseverance to get through. However, his unique journey and the moments of literary brilliance that shine along the way make the read all the more worth-while. This book is a must read for history buffs, or anyone in search of a well-written story of self-discovery and a recollection of current events in Zimbabwe.
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