Waiting for the Rain

In this poignant novel, award-winning author, Charles Mungoshi, explores the consequences of colonialism in 1960s Zimbabwe. Waiting for the Rain asks how a nation can look to the future and preserve its traditions while being tied down to the present tyranny of its oppressors.

Told through multiple perspectives of the Mandengu family, Waiting for the Rain eloquently captures the generational effects of colonialism and the slow breaking of family bonds.

Writing during the fiercest years of the Zimbabwe War of Independence, Mungoshi treads a fine line between criticising colonial rule and attempting to avoid British censorship. The result is an astute commentary on the challenges faced in 1960s Zimbabwe.

'Zimbabwe's finest and most versatile writer.' Petina Gappah
'The influence of Mungoshi's work cuts across generations, continents and cultures.' Professor Arthur Mutambara, former Zimbabwean Deputy Prime Minister

Charles Mungoshi was born in 1947 in the Chivhu area of Zimbabwe. He was a novelist, playwright, and founding figure of modern Zimbabwean literature.

After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe, Mungoshi worked at the Literature Bureau as an editor and at Zimbabwe Publishing House until 1986. He returned to university as a Writer in Residence and continued to work as a freelance writer, scriptwriter and editor.

Mungoshi was twice awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa) in 1988 and 1998 for his short story collections, The Setting Sun and the Rolling World and Walking Still.

Two of his novels, Waiting for the Rain (1975) and Ndiko kupindana kwa mazuva (1975) received International PEN awards.

Mungoshi died in 2019.