Let the Games Begin by Rufaro Faith Mazarura

The perfect beach read is waiting for you.

I was so excited to read this book, mainly because it was written by a British-Zimbabwean author and features Brit-Zim characters. This is the perfect beach read, a feel-good, no stress book.

Ezekiel “Zeke” Moyo is Team Great Britain’s hope for a gold medal in the 100 meters sprint at the 2024 Olympics in Athens (not Paris.) Olivia Nkomo secured a coveted internship at the Olympic International Relations and Diplomacy team but because of an error, she is asked to be an Olympic Village volunteer instead, a position with no prestige or pay. For Olivia, an ambitious person, with a five-year plan, this is a speed bump that she is determined to overcome. Raised by Zimbabwean immigrants, Zeke and Olivia, are working to reconcile their family’s expectations against their own. When they literally collide into each other, the attraction is undeniable, but they have to conquer anxieties in their personal and professional lives first.

While I loved this book, the pacing is great, it is well-written which is important for me since I am not a regular rom-com fan, I was curious at the decision to not have the two characters discuss their upbringing until near the end. Here are two British citizens with Zimbabwean parents, who from descriptions of both their family lives, are very close to their community and visit Zimbabwe often. Yet in their numerous chats, they don’t slip in a Shona word or Zim reference or even acknowledge their similar backgrounds, it’s not believable. That their attraction plus the feeling of home they speak of, maybe due to similar backgrounds requires more exploration than a passing mention of this in retrospect near the end of the novel.  

Having said that, there are Zim references, Tuku’s music for one, that I didn’t realize I was missing from work by Zimbabwean authors until this book. We need more. Pick up a copy of “https://bookshop.org/p/books/let-the-games-begin-rufaro-faith-mazarura/20895412?aid=99438&ean=9781250354532&listref=my-recommendations-on-wadza-s-bookshelf&” by an author whose writing career I will be following.