Coming of Age — The Book Roads

The Mourning Bird

Mubanga Kalimamukwento

Set in Zambia during the turbulent 1990s, The Mourning Bird follows eleven-year-old Chimuka and her younger brother, Ali, whose lives are shattered by a series of family tragedies. After their father dies and their mother’s struggle to keep the family together ends in further heartbreak, the siblings are left facing an uncertain future. Rejected by their abusive extended family, they escape to the streets of Lusaka, where survival means navigating poverty, violence, drugs, and police brutality. As Chimuka grows into adolescence, she confronts the limited choices available to vulnerable girls in a society where poverty and gender inequality expose them to exploitation. Meanwhile, Ali becomes increasingly entangled in crime and addiction. Their struggle unfolds against a backdrop of political instability, economic decline, and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on Zambian families. Unflinching yet deeply compassionate, Kalimamukwento’s debut novel examines childhood, grief, and resilience while revealing the hidden suffering of those living on the margins of society. It is both an intimate story of two siblings fighting to survive and a portrait of a nation grappling with profound social upheaval.

Zambia 2019