Chasing The Leopard Finding The Lion

A debut novel by Julie Wakeman-Linn set in Zimbabwe in 1997, as President-for-Life Robert Mugabe tightens his grip on white landowners and the country descends into political turmoil. The story follows two boys (sons of revolutionaries in the mould of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer) and two racially blended families as they navigate a world of diplomats, expatriates, safari tourists, street children, border guards, and unstable landscapes. Combining elements of buddy road trip and family drama, the novel captures late-1990s Southern Africa in vivid colour with tenacious characters and richly observed detail. The book was a finalist for Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Prize for Literature for Social Change in 2008. The author edits the Potomac Review and teaches at Montgomery College in Washington DC. Internationally distributed by African Books Collective.