BY SHARON SIBINDI
AWARD-WINNING Bulawayo author Bryony Rheam says winning the National Arts Merit Award (Nama) in the category of Outstanding Fiction for her novel titled All Come to Dust is a reflection of that local readers can identify with the plot and the issues it raises.
All Come to Dust is her second book written in the style of a Christie detective story. The novel is set in modern-day Zimbabwe, but also looks back to the time just before independence.
She battled for the award with two other nominees — Leroy Mthulisi Ndlovu and Abraham Makamera.
“I am delighted that All Come to Dust is doing so well,” said Rheam.
“Winning these two Zimbabwean awards Nama and (RoilBAA) is a reflection of the fact that local readers can identify with the plot and the issues it raises.
“It is a great honour to be recognised in my own country and this gives me the impetus to carry on.
“However, the book is not confined to Zimbabwean readers.
“I have been heartened by the number of reviewers and other readers, who have said that they learned something about Zimbabwe and its history through reading the book.”
Rheam believes that place and time affect the feel of a book, but characters are generally universal and they are what interests readers most.
“I didn’t initially intend to write another crime novel after this book, but now I see it as an interesting way to explore society,” she said.
“The African crime novel is different to the Western one for a number of reasons and I think that makes it quite an exciting genre to be exploring right now.”
All Come to Dust, was initially published locally before being co-published by Parthian Books and amaBooks in the United Kingdom.
The book was previously recognised in November 2021 by winning the RoilBAA for Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction).
Her novel, in which Detective Chief Inspector Edmund Dube investigates the suspicious death of socialite Marcia Pullman with the assistance of the “mullet hairstyled” Craig Martin, can be considered a long-simmering, intriguing, twisting murder mystery.
But it is also an incisive depiction of life in present-day Bulawayo and of how the injustice and privilege of the past are still baked into everyday life.
The novel has had many positive reviews, including a recent one by Denis Wheller who said: “To simply describe this beautifully written, densely textured, novel as a murder mystery would be an egregious understatement.”
“To describe it as a police procedural, or a maverick cop, or a psychological thriller – for it is all of these – would similarly undersell it.…
“The quality of the writing, the skilful use of metaphor, the sense of place, the depth of the characterisation, the intricacy of the plot, combine to produce a singular work.”