Petina Gappah

There's a Shona saying: 'chakafukidza dzimba matenga' - 'What covers the home is the roof,' or 'Every home has its secrets.'

I speak English. I dream in it. I cannot separate my English from my Shona; I see the world with those two languages.

I'm not even sure that I want to go back... The Zimbabwe that I really loved, the Zimbabwe that I grew up in, just isn't there anymore, and I'm not sure about the country that has replaced it.

If God treats you well by teaching you a disastrous lesson, you never forget it.

When large numbers of men are unable to find work, unemployment results.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.