The Bookseller – Author Interviews – Blessing Musariri

War, national independence, family dynamics and inspiring women are all part of the upcoming young adult novel When it's your turn at midnightby critically acclaimed Zimbabwean author Blessing Musariri.

Musariri's heroine is Chiante, a modern-day teenager whose life falls apart when she discovers that her family has been hiding a secret about her baba (father). When everyone in her core family (including Chiante herself) fails to mend their relationships after this shocking revelation, she decides to flee to the home of her grandmother, a former fighter in Zimbabwe's liberation war who now makes a living running a fashion upcycling business with other former fighters.

When it's your turn at midnight is Musariri's most personal book to date. The liberation war was a big part of her childhood (she was between five and six when the country emerged from the war and became Zimbabwe), and her own parents were once accused of aiding terrorists and arrested after helping fighters in the bush.

The “totally wild” ex-combatants in the story are based on members of a friend's family, and the plot involving Chiante's father is based on a popular TV show in Zimbabwe about DNA testing. Plus, the markets for upcycled fashion are huge.

In many ways, the stars are the older generation who, Musariri says, could be considered superheroes. They refused to live a traditional life, fled their homeland to go into the bush and fight alongside male soldiers, and they continue to live proud and unconventional lives as elders because of their history. They are not afraid to take risks, says Musariri, adding: “It gives them more opportunities in life than anyone else because they know they will get a second chance and have survived all adversities.” She portrays a country that is changing, and the lives of the grandmother generation are very different from how Chiante – a modern teenager – experiences the world. Like Musariri, the characters are caught between two worlds.

Rooted in the past

“We come from a time where we moved from a very traditional upbringing to a more modern, westernized and urban lifestyle,” she says. “We are moving into the future, but because our home life is still rooted in the past, that influence remains.”

Chiante matures and grows in the company of her elders. “She learns that life doesn't always go the way you want it to, and that sometimes when circumstances are beyond your control, you have to be the one to fight through, so to speak, and not just survive, but make the most of it,” says the author. “Not just to get out of it… but to thrive despite the challenges.”

She also understands that families are “not one size fits all,” but are made up of people who are there for you no matter what. “Your family doesn't necessarily have to be the same as someone else's family, and that doesn't make it better or worse. It is what it is,” Musariri says. “And if it is something that lifts you up, that hugs you, that builds you up, then that's great. That's what family should be.”

When it's your turn at midnight is Musariri’s second young adult novel published in the UK, after Everything that ever Meantbut she has been writing in many different genres for years. As a child, her love of literature was fed by trips to the library in Harare, where she loved Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew. In high school, she wrote romance stories based on her friends' love lives. After university, a conversation with her now brother-in-law prompted her to “write properly” and she began writing romance novels and poetry.

Your family won't necessarily be the same as anyone else's family, and that doesn't make it better or worse. It is what it is.

Her first long-form book was a romance novel for a South African publisher, and she published a children's book in 2008. In 2019, she published a young adult novel (co-written with Thorsten Nesch) in Canada, but soon after, she considered giving up writing altogether.

But when a friend convinced her to join a new branch of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), she began working on children's books again and met Sarah Odedina, publisher and director of Accord Literary (an agency for children's book writers based in Africa).

It was Odedina who suggested Musariri write stories about her family. “When I started writing a story, I hadn't decided what had happened to the mother, but it all just fell into place,” she says. “And that's how I got back into writing, because after I wrote my dystopian novel, I didn't write anything for about six years.”

The resulting book, Everything it ever meantwas both in the observer and the Irish Timesand Musariri says the novel's success still doesn't feel real. It's “beautiful” but also “strange” because it comes after “years” of rejection.

“I've put a lot of effort into my life over the past few years and tried and tried and tried and all I got in return was exhaustion from trying,” she admits. “I'm not saying you don't have to work, but often you try to make things happen and they just happen when they happen.”

Everything it ever meant is her most successful book to date, and one for which Musariri says she is extremely grateful. “I'm so happy to finally feel like I'm a part of it, because for so long I was just watching other people being in these spaces,” she explains. “I had actually just stopped wanting to be there, and then it just happened. It's incredible.”