When a Crocodile Eats the Sun

A Memoir of Africa

By: Peter Godwin

Narrated by: Peter Godwin

After his father's heart attack in 1984, Peter Godwin began a series of pilgrimages back to Zimbabwe, the land of his birth, from Manhattan, where he now lives. On these frequent visits to check on his elderly parents, he bore witness to Zimbabwe's dramatic spiral downward into the jaws of violent chaos, presided over by an increasingly enraged dictator. And yet long after their comfortable lifestyle had been shattered and millions were fleeing, his parents refuse to leave, steadfast in their allegiance to the failed state that has been their adopted home for 50 years. Then Godwin discovered a shocking family secret that helped explain their loyalty. Africa was his father's sanctuary from another identity, another world.

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun is a stirring memoir of the disintegration of a family set against the collapse of a country. But it is also a vivid portrait of the profound strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love.

©2006 Peter Godwin (P)2007 Recorded Books

Superb!

Peter Godwin is a fantastic writer/story-teller. I read this book in my early twenties and have found it even more moving now, in my thirties, with a little more appreciation for life's twists and turns. I enjoyed listening to the author's voice, as it lends authenticity to the story.

Beautiful and engaging storytelling

Bittersweet and wonderfully written memoir that helped me gain a deeper understanding of Zimbabwe’s history

An Inside Look at a Descent Into Tyranny

This was very interesting, well told, and well read. I really enjoyed Mukiwa, so I read this book. This book is like Orwell’s book Animal Farm but happening in real life. It is sad to see such a nice country run into the ground by pride, greed, and political correctness.

Worth the listen.

Good story, well narrated. Evocative for me, an African away from Africa, for so long.

Outstanding

Really enjoyed listening to this book, especially since I grew up in South Africa. There was so much I didn’t know about what was happening due to censorship so this book was also a learning experience

Humane, eloquent portrayal of Zimbabwe.

Portrayal of a nation’s decline due to unfettered, corrupt leadership. Grinds the average citizen into poverty.
Intermixed with the uniqueness of the family ~~ love of Zimbabwe, sadness as the security is stripped away. Yet, as always, the goodness of the average citizen maintains.
So we’ll written and narrated.

The love for their country despite everything

Enjoyed the book, it gave me an insight to what my family had to endure before the fledgling to South Africa to join us.

Privileged Colonists

Story aims to create sympathy for colonialism and ignores how the decades of racial opportunism also did much damage to those who never asked to be led. I did not like the narration at all.