Tendai Huchu at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

2014 Caine Prize shortlisted author Tendai Huchu will read from his new novel, The Maestro, the Magistrate & the Mathematician, and discuss how the heritage, traditions, and vibrancy of African storytelling continue to inspire and influence his writing at the Royal Overseas League on Friday 28th August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A limited number of copies of Tendai's book will be available for purchase. The official UK launch will be on 30th October as part of the Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair.
In a recent article, Wawa Book Review draws attention to the experience of immigrants as depicted in Tendai's new novel, drawing connections to David Foster Wallace, Teju Cole, and Samuel Selvon. Read the full review here.

'Told in stylish and dense prose, this novel subscribes to a certain American aesthetic of interrogating the immigrant experience in Europe ... Here is an important novel about migration that negotiates to differentiate itself from tradition by approaching character development through an inventory of the minutest of details, psychological projections as well as existential concerns.' - Wawa Book Review

In The Maestro, the Magistrate & the Mathematician, three very different men struggle with thoughts of belonging, loss, identity, and love as they attempt to find a place for themselves in Britain. The Magistrate tries to create new memories and roots, fusing a wandering exploration of Edinburgh with music. The Maestro, a depressed, quixotic character, sinks out of the real world into the fantastic world of literature. The Mathematician, full of youth, follows a carefree, hedonistic lifestyle, until their three universes collide. In this carefully crafted, multi-layered novel, Tendai Huchu, with his inimitable humour, reveals much about the Zimbabwean story as he draws the reader deep into the lives of the three main characters.

'An unusually astute and unflinching writer’ - The Guardian
‘Tendai Huchu illustrates universal notions well’ - The Examiner
‘Tendai Huchu seems to the be the great-grandchild of Jonathan Swift with many voices in his head’ - Frankurter Allgemeine Zeitung
‘I could not let this book rest...The lead characters of The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician are made “accessible” through the craftsmanship of Tendai Huchu’ - Dr Rosetta Codling

The Maestro, the Magistrate & the Mathematician, Royal Overseas League,
100 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3AB
Fri 28th August, 11am - 12 noon
Robert Louis Stevenson Room
£12 (£10) / 0131 225 1501
Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe