Name: African Laughter
ISBN: 9780060924331

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

A Country in Change

Lessing brings memory and return into a personal portrait of Zimbabwe across four visits.

Come here for

A writer’s perspective on returning to a homeland
The interplay of memory and recent experience

Expect

A contemplative portrait of a country in transition
Four visits spanning 1982 to 1992

Book Details

Authors: Doris Lessing
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: August 4, 1993
Format: Print & ebook
Theme: Southern African History · East African History
Reading lane: Southern African History

Affinity

Publisher Categories

Lives in History
Writers' Lives
Women's Lives
Personal Memoirs

Show all 8 publisher categories

World History
20th-Century History
History Writing
Essay Collections

About This Book

A highly personal story of the eminent British writer returning to her African roots that is "brilliant . . . [and] captures the contradictions of a young country." — New York Times Book Review A rich and penetrating portrait of Lessing's homeland, African Laughter recounts the visits she made to Zimbabwe in 1982, 1988, 1989, and 1992, after being exiled from the old Southern Rhodesia for 25 years for her opposition to the minority white government. Lessing uses memory and r...

Read full description

A highly personal story of the eminent British writer returning to her African roots that is "brilliant . . . [and] captures the contradictions of a young country." — New York Times Book Review A rich and penetrating portrait of Lessing's homeland, African Laughter recounts the visits she made to Zimbabwe in 1982, 1988, 1989, and 1992, after being exiled from the old Southern Rhodesia for 25 years for her opposition to the minority white government. Lessing uses memory and reminiscence with recent experience to depict a country in the process of change.