A richly textured novel of Zimbabwe, taking the form of a letter from a mother to her daughter, who will leave Africa for Harvard University. In spinning these tales, the ailing narrator recalls her life story, the history of Zimbabwe and the fight for independence. Each chapter is a lesson, warning Zenzele of the challenges ahead as a black African woman. Born in Harare in 1966, Maraire (a neurosurgeon who studied at Harvard, Columbia and Yale) came of age during Rhodesia's struggle for independence. For this autobiographial work, she draws on the wisdom, folktales and stories told by her grandmother, mother and aunt.  (ZIM11, $14.00)