A Son of the Soil

A Son of the Soil is Wilson Katiyo's powerful debut novel, first published in 1976 and widely read across Zimbabwe and internationally. Set during the final decades of white-ruled Rhodesia, the novel follows Alexio Shonga from childhood in a rural village to adolescence in the segregated township of Salisbury (now Harare). Through village folklore, family tensions and the harsh realities of racial discrimination, Alexio gradually develops a political awareness that leads him toward the liberation struggle. Blending oral storytelling traditions with psychological depth, Katiyo offers a vivid portrait of a society under strain and a young man's painful coming of age. Formerly a Cambridge 'O' Level set text, this Legacy Edition invites new readers to rediscover a landmark of Zimbabwean literature.