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House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-torn Zimbabwe
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List Price: £8.99
zimbabwe.lehi.co.uk Price: £6.99
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: HarperPerennial
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780007219391
ISBN: 0007219393
Label: HarperPerennial
Manufacturer: HarperPerennial
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: 2007-02-05
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Studio: HarperPerennial
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Superb book.
Comment: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is riveting and nearly impossible to put down. I would highly recommend it.
House of Stone is written by Christina Lamb, an English journalist. In the opening passages I wasn't too sure if I trusted this author yet as I thought she was exaggerating (this is the scene where she describes a city's main market as reduced to rubble). I then turned the page to see a photograph depicting the rubble and it was there that my hesitation and disbelief dissolved.
The author takes the life story of two very different Zimbabweans and she chronicles this against the backdrop of the major political events of the past 45 years. She also interweaves the history of Zimbabwe dating back over a hundred years, to when the country was first colonised. The protagonists are a white educated male born into a wealthy farming family and a poor black female with only a primary education who hailed from an underprivileged rural background.
The book is incredibly informative and yet it is never laborious or dry. This is a book that took me through a range of emotions from shock and horror to disbelief and sadness. I thought I had very strong beliefs about Zimbabwe before I read this book. I thought I had a very politically left position on matters there and I was convinced Mugabe was an evil man and that gross human rights violations were taking place. The truth is that I had no idea and that my mind could not have even conceived how bad things really are there. The point is not to discuss my politics but that knowledge is power and I would urge everyone to read this book so that they too can get an idea of what is going on in Zimbabwe and once armed with the truth, they can act accordingly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Two sides of the coin
Comment: This book is an excellent read for anyone interested in knowing more about the current social and political situation in this beautiful country.
What I liked the most is the fact that the author describes the situation from the point of view of people from different backgrounds: a black lady raised in poverty and a white man born in a farming community, sent to good schools and well-travelled.
I absolutely loved. Fully recommend it,
Paola Barcacel.-
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Easy read but with distortions
Comment: This book is a very easy read but spoiled by several errors of fact, many of which do not materially affect the story, but definitely reflect the political views of the author. As an example she refers to Nigel Hough's brothers and sisters also losing their farms whereas none of the sisters ever had a farm and even the brother, if he had one at all, only had it for a very short time. It appears to be an attempt to depict white Zimbabweans as all being landowners, which was nowhere near the case.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Gripping story
Comment: I couldn't put this book down -- I read it in a weekend, totally gripped by the two very personal stories, and felt it gave me thorough understanding of what happened in Zimbabwe, without ever feeling like a difficult read. The Africa House is also a good book, but this is outstanding.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A nitty-gritty account with lots of insight
Comment: This book gives plenty of insight to the current situation in Zimbabwe.
There were a couple of places where I thought the facts were wrong (about some points of little consequence to the main story) and this then left me wondering whether all of the reporting was accurate. I enjoyed this and The Africa House, but I do find Chrtistina's style slightly awkward. She is a very good journalist. I ripped through this book in a week and could not put it down.
I wondered why the Houghs did not covert their farm into a workers' cooperative with Mr Hough retained as a salaried agricultural adviser - but perhaps even that would not have staved off the attack they suffered. Because, ultimately, this is a regime that is not looking for or interested in solutions. It just wants to retain power.
If you are interested in understanding the situation in Zimbabwe then you will not be disappointed if you buy this book. It is very good. I would also highly recommend Mukiwa (White Boy in Africa) by Peter Godwin - his book is lighter and there is little overlap with House of Stone.
House of Stone really shows the corruption and the seamier side of human behaviour. It is such a tragedy that people are suffering so in a country that should be 'rich'. God bless Zimbabwe.
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