African Laughter

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.

In this landmark memoir, Lessing chronicles Zimbabwe’s first turbulent decade through the lens of four distinct visits—each one revealing a new layer of a nation grappling with its soul.

• The End of a 25-Year Exile: After decades of being a Prohibited Immigrant for her political views, Lessing steps back onto the soil of her childhood to confront a country she only recognizes in fragments.
• Post-Colonial Zimbabwe: Journey through the nation's tumultuous first decade, from the initial post-war optimism of 1982 to the complex realities of the early 1990s under Robert Mugabe.
• A Divided Society: Through candid conversations with her brother, old white settlers, and the new black ruling class, Lessing lays bare the lingering tensions and surprising alliances of a nation grappling with its racial past.
• Memory and Landscape: A poignant exploration of how memory shapes our sense of place, set against the heartbreaking loss of the wild African bush and its animals that Lessing knew as a child.