Avenues by Train Avenues by Train By Farai Mudzingwa

When seven-year-old Jedza witnesses a tragic incident involving a train and the death of his close boyhood friend in his hometown Miner’s Drift, he is convinced that his life is haunted. Now in his mid-20s, Jedza is a down-and-out electrician, moving to Harare in the hopes that he will escape the darkness and superstitions of the small town. But living in the shadowy restless atmosphere of the Avenues with its mysterious pools of water rising under musasa trees, he is tormented by the disappearance of his sister and their early encounters with ancestral spirits, the shapeshifting power of the njuzu and a vengeful ngozi. To move forward, he must stop running away and confront the trauma of his past.

An eclectic, experimental novel, AVENUES BY TRAIN is a brash and confident debut by an exciting new voice.

selves and alternate realities. He has previously published a short fiction – Green Shadows in the

Kiya Kiya Republic – and short stories in Weaver Press anthologies, Kwani?, Writivism,

Storymoja and Short Story Day Africa. His profiles, literature reviews and political essays have

appeared in New Frame, Chimurenga Chronic, The Africa Report, New Humanitarian, TRT

News, Contemporary& and Mail & Guardian

“Avenues by Train, is a unique and compelling read…thenovel explores the many traumas created by the colonial enterprise and the many disappointments experienced in the postcolonial era…The spirituality underpinning the entire story makes for an intriguing read.” – Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author of The Theory of Flight.