The Colours That Blind

Description

A breathtaking YA novel set in Zimbabwe about freedom, inter-generational friendships and forgiving the past. Tumi desperately wants to make the Zimbabwean national swimming team. Only in swimming does he escape the hatred and exclusion that his albinism brings him. But when he has to stay with his grandmother for a while, the trauma of the terrible thing that happened to him comes rushing back. Can Ambuya reassure Tumi by revealing her own shocking past - a story riddled with racial hatred in war-torn Rhodesia, featuring murder and an illegal love? And what of Tumi's suspicions that she was involved in his nightmare? From the author of HOPE IS OUR ONLY WING.

Rutendo Nomsa Tavengerwei lived and studied in Zimbabwe until the age of eighteen, when she moved to South Africa to study Law at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has just completed a Masters at the World Trade Institute, and is now working at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. HOPE IS OUR ONLY WING was her debut novel - and THE COLOURS THAT BLIND is her second novel.

Tragedy, hatred and atrocity are shown with unflinching directness, but Tavengerwei's second novel is also an eloquent plea for acceptance and reconciliation. -- Imogen Russell Williams * Guardian * Tavengerwei flexes her storytelling muscles, weaving two tales from different times together, with pace, confidence and beautiful writing . . . Easy detail, authentic dialogue, nuance and humour . . . Tavengerwei draws characters that are conflicted, compassionate, but never obvious mouthpieces. I can't recommend it enough. * The Times * This novel is about difference and accepting differences. And ultimately being able to forgive. It's the only way to release yourself from the grip of hatred. An important, and extremely difficult, lesson to learn . . . This book will hook many readers. Ones who like to be challenged by intense themes, immersed in another culture, and gripped by authentic storytelling. * Just Imagine * Truly one of the best books I have read * ruruwrites.com * An extraordinary achievement . . . Tavengerwei's story teaches us that learning about the past and recent past is the best way to broaden our own minds. Recent history has valuable lessons about the point at which anger simply becomes hate - and how hate is all-encompassing and easy to manipulate. An extraordinary feat and a real page-turner. Rutendo Tavengerwei's intelligence and empathy shines on every page. * Book Murmuration *