What Happened to Us
Little Island Press, 2018
In the fiery environment of an election season, with tensions stoked by an unrelenting heatwave, Danny Walker goes about the business of being a carefree boy. But when a horrific act of violence is visited on his family, his sense of innocence is shattered and his grip on reality slowly begins to fracture. In lean, lyrical prose—reminiscent of the work of J.M. Coetzee and Cormac McCarthy—Zimbabwean writer Ian Holding delivers a mesmerizing coming-of-age tale of guilt and responsibility set within the fault-lines of modern Africa.
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Praise for What Happened to Us
‘A powerful coming-of-age tale. The deceptively simple storytelling narrates a disturbing and layered tale with admirable grace. The author’s sensory detail, imagery, and strong descriptions build up tension and a textured impressionistic feel of domestic life that is destroyed by a random and traumatic act of violence.’ |THE BOOKBLAST
‘This is a powerful, haunting novel in which setting and culture are key. The heart of it though is a wider perspective on the side effects of conflict and political upheaval. It is a recommended read.’ | JACKIE LAW | NEVERIMITATE
‘Proves hard to put down, with razor sharp prose. The tension builds and builds, tightly held resulting in something quite special. A brutal gut punch of a book. A deeply intimate reading experience. Long lasting. A writer I’ll go back and read, and wait for what comes next.’ | ASHAKODAH BOOKBLOG
‘To read Ian Holding’s What Happened to Us is to be drawn into a state of suspension, to hover with a child, a family and a country on the edge of possible unravelling. Holding has been likened to JM Coetzee, and although similarities in theme and style are evident, the distinctive tenderness of Holding’s first-person voice, which poignantly evokes the vulnerability of boyhood, is very much his own.’ |JAQUELINE LANDEY | REVIEW 31