Call Of The Litany Bird
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Review
This is a moving book, calmly written despite the horrors it details. The Spectator Susan Gibbs's extraordinary memoir. She writes vividly about her love of Africa and its people, and it is impossible not to admire her courage. Her account is threaded with amusing anecdotes. Daily Mail Sue Gibbs is a gifted writer. She tells a compelling personal story of bringing up a family on a farm whilst living through the harrowing times as Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. It is a wonderfully evocative read. Tom Benyon OBE, Founder of ZANE Deeply moving. Douglas Hurd (Former Foreign Secretary) This book reminds us of the courage which they (the Gibbs) and so many of their friends and neighbours showed. Lord Carrington (Former Foreign Secretary) Sometimes a book can touch a part of the soul and for me, Call Of The Litany Bird is such a one. New Books Magazine One really does feel, as the book progresses, the deterioration in the situation and the worries and concerns both of the white farming community and the Africans who shared so much of their lives. The definitive account. Major General Colin Shortis (Former BMATT Commander in Zimbabwe) A heartfelt account of human endeavour to try and lead as normal and productive lives as possible throughout grave turmoil. New Africa Analysis This book is a gem. Robin Byatt CMG (British High Commissioner to Zimbabwe 1980 to 1983) There are not many books which cause me to cancel any thought of doing anything else just so I can get stuck in to them, but this one did it for me today. Go buy this book, you will not be disappointed. John Gaye (Blogger) This is an amazing story, told with modesty and without undue drama. Amazon ***** Review An elegant and easy style. Amazon ***** Review
Product Description
As a trained nurse, newly married to the son of the Governor of Rhodesia during the UDI years, Susan writes compellingly about bringing up a family on their farm in Matabeleland in the midst of the unfolding terror and growing number of atrocities. Above all it is a human story. Sometimes shocking and always moving, there is also warmth and humour as Susan creates a gripping picture of the conflict and tells of her family's survival when many of her friends and neighbouring farmers didn't. The book is a testament to the courage displayed by so many people who were tested day after day by almost unimaginable horrors. The Litany Bird is the popular name of the Nightjar, a largely nocturnal bird found throughout southern Africa. Its haunting call sounds like 'Good Lord, Deliver Us.'
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The joys and the horrors of Zimbabwe life,
By
This review is from: Call Of The Litany Bird: Surviving the Zimbabwe Bush War (Hardcover)
This is a book, originally written for the benefit of the author's children, to record many of the ghastly events they witnessed in their childhood while being brought up in the paradise that was a farm in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland. It was while the infamous North Korean trained Fifth Brigade were being allowed to run wild in the part of Zimbabwe that was the homeland to the Ndebele people, Mugabe's main rivals for power. Sue Gibbs describes with great skill the wonderful sights and sounds of Africa that kept families there long after common sense might have dictated a withdrawal. She has a wonderful way in evoking the atmosphere of African life including some very evocative word pictures of the wonderful flora and fauna that were part of their day to day environs. But then she tells the stories of the horrors without dramatising them. She also brings out the wonderful relationships she and her family had with their labour force, who were really part of her extended family and all of whom had no option but to stay on when the Gibbs decided very reluctantly to sell up everything that they had built up over two generations and leave for the safety and sanity of England, a country where they realised very quickly that although they spoke the same language they were really quite alien to its ways.This is an amazing story, told with modesty and without undue drama. Beautifully written it will chime immediately with anyone who knows any part of Africa but also with those who want to discover something of the life of those whom they may know who have 'retired' from Zimbabwe. This is their story that they probably will not tell you in ordinary conversation.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
call of the litany bird,
This review is from: Call Of The Litany Bird: Surviving the Zimbabwe Bush War (Hardcover)
The call of the Litany Bird is a true story that needed to be documented. Susan's chronicle of the ZANU inspired atrocities against the reputed 22,000 people of Matabeleland who died, is set graphically by her. She uses pathos, humour, and her intricate knowledge and experience of Africa - its smells, its colours, its peoples and its animals (and reptiles!) to describe a daily life that became intolerable.Having been born in Rhodesia myself and living near Bulawayo for 45 years I admire Susans ability to portray a way of life that has been swept away to the detriment of all who shared it. She 'got it right' in every way and I feel that this book is compulsory reading for every student of African politics and history.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Call of the Litany Bird,
By Wilkie Martin (Cotswolds) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Call Of The Litany Bird: Surviving the Zimbabwe Bush War (Hardcover)
Susan Gibbs has written a brilliant and moving account of her life in Zimbabwe around the time of its independence. It is a tale of a white family and their friends and acquaintances during a period of turbulence and horror in the country, especially in Matabeleland, where they farmed. She writes with an elegant, easy style and gives a vivid, evocative account of what she saw and how it affected the family and others. At times it is unbearably sad, at other times funny, but it is always engaging.I thoroughly enjoyed it and, though it does not delve deeply into politics, it gave me a genuine insight into Zimbabwe and the brutalities committed by Mugabe's regime.
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