Who Will Bury You? And Other Stories by Chido Muchemwa

“But for now, we sing. We sing until our voices become shrill, until all the small children have fallen asleep, until the fire has been reduced to orange embers. We sing until a blood-red band appears on the horizon.” - page 175

Who Will Bury You? And Other Stories is a collection of twelve short stories by Chido Muchemwa that takes the reader on a journey from Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Canada to the underworld. In this stunning debut, Muchemwa tackles themes of loss, migration, grief, identity, inequality and being. This collection is diverse, and embodies what I consider some of the joys of fiction: elements of the historical, speculative and African folklore. Each story in this collection is significant and ultimately an emotional dive into the human experience. Muchemwa’s writing and characters draw you in, telling stories about the ordinary person brilliantly.

The loss in this book deepens as the reader discovers new worlds in each character, whose storylines do not leave you the same. Young people who leave the life they have ever known to look for better in Canada (Tino), America (Rudo), South Africa (Hamu) and even the capital of their nation, Harare (Rugare), others to fight for their country to be freed from colonial rule, the loss of dreams unfulfilled and promises unkept, and the loss of friendship (Anna). The grief is palpable. Mothers mourn the weddings they envision for their daughters that shall never be, the grandchildren that they will never get to see (Tino). Those who leave question if their departure was worth it. From Cousin Rangi, who never makes it back to bury his father, to Wiki, who stays and has to bury everyone but does not hold the purse strings, to Hamu, who has to brave the haunting Verwoerd Tunnels and make it work somehow in the wild. Yet it is in ‘Paradise’ that one gets a feel of the things that make people leave. In one cemetery, as Wiki contemplates, national history intertwines with the personal, a sight of AIDS, queerphobia, and stretched familial relations. It is also in the other cemetery where Rugare’s reflection reveals the unemployment of his country, the dreams that have rotted and gone with the wind, as people resort to all sorts of hustles to make it by. Yet there is no occupation as heartbreaking as that of the 'Snore Monitor.'

In ‘The Last of the Boys,’ the cost of the liberation struggle is explored. No one survives a war unscathed. I am always interested in narratives that tackle history, but that also explore other stories that are usually forgotten. When people talk about the liberation struggle, it is the stories of the guerrillas that take centre stage. Muchemwa asks us to look at the other people who contributed to the struggle in other ways, especially the mothers who watched their sons leave, return as different people and some never to return forever. Revolutions call for sacrifice, and this story shows how these mothers not only sacrificed but also worked to feed and provide for the guerrillas even in the face of fear. ‘The Rhodesian government called the guerrillas terrorists. The guerrillas called themselves liberators. We just called them Vakomana, the Boys. Let the victors of the war decide what they were when the war was done.’ (page 159). In a heart-wrenching tale of desperation, the desire for freedom, and changing destinies, Muchemwa explores the liberation history of Zimbabwe and joins the writers taking charge of our stories and histories. The scene in the mountains where the women keep singing while Gari faces his fate is hauntingly necessary. These Vakomana, who did the unthinkable, were their sons scattered across the land.

‘Captive River’ is one of my favourite stories from the collection. After reading ‘Finding Mermaids,’ and ‘Kariba Heights,’ ‘Captive River’ comes to tie the ends neatly. Mermaids, ‘vicious, powerful, half-human, half-fish creatures who lived in the deep waters, communing with the spirit…’ (page 90) as described by Muchemwa, fascinate people. In this story of Siba and Basilwizi (People of The Great River), I see everything else but there is a story to be told about how Siba learns that while she was set apart to be the river god’s wife, she does not need to be Nyami Nyami’s concubine to be powerful. The power to save her people was within her all along and she is not just an appendage to the river god. Threading the folklore of the baTonga people into this story shows how Muchemwa is deliberate about the stories she tells.

The short story cycles in this collection are a delight. The stories can be read alone, but Muchemwa skilfully leads you into fitting the puzzles. I enjoyed reading ‘Chasing Elephants’ together with ‘Finding Mermaids.’ Moreso, the three: ‘Finding Mermaids,’ ‘Kariba Heights,’ and ‘The Captive River’ What heightens the grief in this collection for me are ‘Who Will Bury You,’ ‘This Will Break My Mother’s Heart, ‘If It Wasn’t for the Nights,’ ‘After Tears’ and ‘Paradise.’ I enjoyed reading this collection and will be adding it to that special shelf of my favourites. I had the opportunity to discuss all things books with Muchemwa on Ihwi earlier this year, after reading this collection, and you can listen to the conversation here or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Book Details

Title: Who Will Bury You? And Other Stories

Genre: Fiction

Author: Chido Muchemwa

Publisher: House of Anansi Press (2024)

Pages: 180