190 BOOK REVIEWS1896-7 uprisings is clearly ignorant of modern research which demolishesmuch of Ranger's Revolt in Southern Rhodesia on which the author reliesabsolutely.In spite of its shortcomings the biography will no doubt appeal to a widerange of people interested in local history. The book is a fitting tribute to a greatteacher and martyr, one who laid a strong foundation to what later became thefamous Nenguwo Training Institute (Waddilove). That the book should comefrom a long-serving teacher and pastor at the Institute is a recognition of the rareeducational and evangelistic qualities that Moleli possessed.University of Zimbabwe P. H. GUNDANIEzivusa Usinga Gweru. Mambo Press in association with the Literature Bureau1989, 253 pp., ISBN 0-86922-448-4. ZSI6.00.This anthology contains examples of the work of Ndebele poets who have beenrepresented in previous anthologies, such as J. N. T. Dupute. P. S. Malunjwa,B. L. M. D. Ndlovu. O. L. Mlilo, N. C. G. Mathema, D. E. Ndoda and N. S.Sigogo, to mention a few. New poets have been included, but apart from D. N.Ncube and D. F. Gumpo, the new poets have, on average, only two poems eachcompared to the nine each of the more established poets.The new authors might be expected to provide a new trend, a new approach,a freshness of ideas and presentation, a new rhythm and a movement towards anew poetic excellence, but they simply seem to be following an establishedpattern in respect of an established poetic tradition. Emphasis is still placed onthe familiar and now common Ndebele forms of linkages: parallelism, chiasmus,and regular end-rhyme in couplet form with a recurrent spicing of free verse.The poets still resort to disguised repetitions in terms of noun-verb linkages,alliteration and assonance, imagery links and symbolism, open repetition ofidentical items, and phrase and verse forms. The new poets are respecting an oldtradition nurtured in secondary-school education and emphasized in teacher-training colleges and the University. The poetic style of the new poets seems tobe tame, uniform and hedged between stable "acceptable" and known boundaries.The themes covered in the anthology range from Ndebele traditions andcustoms through modernism to the Zimbabwe liberation war (pp. 8, 11, 13, 2230. 156, 182, 222, 226). Love is explored (pp. 63. 66-73. 154, 159, 202, 211*221, 247) as are death (pp. 20, 31, 136, 209. 229. 233) and life (pp. 196, 199,200, 237). At the same time, a miscellany of experiences covering the naturalworld, money, youth, old age, party politics, jealousy, pain and happiness areexplored as well.In general the poet's private experiences are explored, giving most of thepoems a first-hand interpretation. The safe retreat by some poets into privateexperiences robs the book of a certain degree of concentration. The accountabilityof poets in socio-economic and political concerns is thereby affected. The poetshave placed themselves in a relatively safe position and have apparently ignoredsocial challenges. The book does not look at the war. heroes and socialism withinsight. The future vision seems to be ideologically bankrupt and optimisticallyBOOK REVIEWS 191ambitious. There is in the poems an underlying escape from a problem or a set ofproblems into a protective optimism. As a result the anthology Ezivusa Usingadoes not contain any strong social protest or any criticism of social injustices. Itmight be referred to as poetry which does not speak, for the masses.Most of the poems in the anthology would seem to have been in "coldstorage" in the Literature Bureau or at Mambo Press waiting to be published, afactor which accounts for their limited relevance in the 1990s. Unfortunately,proof-reading and editing have not been of the highest order and the numeroustypographic errors tend to interfere with the smooth conceptualization of thepoems, since the reader has to spend time 'rewriting" and subsequentlyreinterpreting some terms.Despite the basic weaknesses, the anthology has much to offer to thestudent of poetry as well as to the researcher interested in the 'hidden'subconscious and conscious working of the Ndebele poetic mind. It is a bookwell worth reading in terms of the variety and scope of the poems as well as forthe potential that it has for providing room for poetic discoveries.University of Zimbabwe J. ZONDOFamily Law in Zimbabwe Bv W. Ncube. Harare, Legal Resources Foundation,1989, xxviii, 227 pp., ISBN 0-908312-01-6, ZS25.OO.The author tells us in the preface of this work that his aim is to provide a'concise and comprehensive overview of family law in Zimbabwe both undergeneral and customary law". There is no doubt that Ncube has written anadequate reference work that will be useful to various professionals who need toknow the law as well as, obviously, the legal practitioner and law student. Itsdefect is that it is rather more concise than comprehensive. A person seeking ananswer from this work is likely to be frustrated in being able to extract onlygeneral guidelines to the law. thus requiring further research in order to find aspecific solution. This is unfortunate in view of the large number of semi-trainedpeople administering the law who would benefit from a comprehensive text aswell as many legal practitioners who are themselves operating without referenceto a full library.However, the book's real strength is in bringing together, for the first time,what the law is in respect of families under the two systems of law in Zimbabwe.By collating this information from previously dispersed and sometimesinaccessible sources, the book is of tremendous value. Its pitch will limit its useto those familiar with the law rather than provide an easily understandablesource for the layman. Throughout the book there is a sense that the author wasin haste to complete and publish the manuscript. This feeling pervades from thefirst part Š also the weakest Š where the inherited legal system is discussed inrhetorical rather than historical terms through to the final chapter which ends soabruptly that the author's relief at having reached the end of his labours is almosttangible.Having looked at how the two systems of law co-exist, Ncube then examinesthe different issues that can give rise to actions between parties. Each of these