June Special

7 June 2023

House of Stone by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, 2020 (ZIMBABWE)
R375, Clarke’s Bookshop

A brilliant account of the 1980s Matebeleland genocide in Zimbabwe, told through the eyes of a young man searching for his past.

“A man of consciousness, gifted with a mind and a blank screen and a keyboard such as I have, makes his own hi-story proper” – Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, House of Stone

Waiting for Angel by Helon Habila, 2002  (NIGERIA)
R820, The Book Lounge

Tales of hope in a deteriorating Nigeria now being adapted for the big screen by Akin Omotoso.

“Every oppressor knows that wherever one word is joined to another to form a sentence, there’ll be revolt.” – Helon Habila, Waiting for Angel

Waiting for Angel by Helon Habila, 2002  (NIGERIA)
R820, The Book Lounge

Tales of hope in a deteriorating Nigeria now being adapted for the big screen by Akin Omotoso.

“Every oppressor knows that wherever one word is joined to another to form a sentence, there’ll be revolt.” – Helon Habila, Waiting for Angel

Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda, 1995 (SOUTH AFRICA)
R295, The Book Lounge

A celebration of a homeless Cape Town’s man undying love for his sweetheart.

“Death lives with us everyday. Indeed, our ways of dying are our ways of living. Or should I say our ways of living are our ways of dying?” – Zakes Mda, Ways of Dying

Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda, 1995 (SOUTH AFRICA)
R295, The Book Lounge

A celebration of a homeless Cape Town’s man undying love for his sweetheart.

“Death lives with us everyday. Indeed, our ways of dying are our ways of living. Or should I say our ways of living are our ways of dying?” – Zakes Mda, Ways of Dying

No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe, 2001 (NIGERIA)
R310, Clarke’s Bookshop

A young man falls from grace by slipping into corruption.

“A person who has not secured a place on the floor should not begin to look for a mat” – Chinua Achebe, No Longer at Ease 

 

The Famished Road by Ben Okri, 1991 (NIGERIA)
R240, Clarke’s Bookshop

A spirit child battles the call of his spirit friends so as not to disappoint his earthly family by dying.

“Human beings are gods hidden from themselves” – Ben Okri, The Famished Road  

 

The Famished Road by Ben Okri, 1991 (NIGERIA)
R240, Clarke’s Bookshop

A spirit child battles the call of his spirit friends so as not to disappoint his earthly family by dying.

“Human beings are gods hidden from themselves” – Ben Okri, The Famished Road  

 

An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah, 2009 (ZIMBABWE)
R205 from Clarke’s Bookshop

A collection of short stories about what it has meant to be a Zimbabwean in recent times.

“[L]ife is one big jest at the expense of humanity” – Petina Gappah, An Elegy for Easterly

Harare North by Brian Chikwava, 2010 (ZIMBABWE)
R215, Clarke’s Bookshop

The lives of several very different people fleeing Zimbabwe’s disintegration. 

“[I]f you don’t spin them smooth jazz numbers then immigration people is never going to give you chance to even sniff first step into Queen’s land” – Brian Chikwava, Harare North

Harare North by Brian Chikwava, 2010 (ZIMBABWE)
R215, Clarke’s Bookshop

The lives of several very different people fleeing Zimbabwe’s disintegration. 

“[I]f you don’t spin them smooth jazz numbers then immigration people is never going to give you chance to even sniff first step into Queen’s land” – Brian Chikwava, Harare North

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, 2022 (TANZANIA)
R580, Clarke’s Bookshop

A young man returns to his village to find his family devastated. 

“You want me to tell you about myself as if I have a complete story. But all I have are fragments which are snagged by troubling gaps” – Abdulrazak Gurnah, Afterlives

A Question of Power by Bessie Head, 1986 (SOUTH AFRICA)
R304, Clarke’s Bookshop

A woman disintegrates in exile from South Africa. 

“Life is such a gentle, treasured thing. I learn about it every minute” – Bessie Head, A Question of Power

A Question of Power by Bessie Head, 1986 (SOUTH AFRICA)
R304, Clarke’s Bookshop

A woman disintegrates in exile from South Africa. 

“Life is such a gentle, treasured thing. I learn about it every minute” – Bessie Head, A Question of Power

Neighbours: The Story of a Murder by Lilia Momplé, 2012 (MOZAMBIQUE)
From R290 plus shipping from Abe Books

Innocent people are caught up in a plot to destabilise Mozambique.

“Whoever does not know from where they come does not know where they are, nor where they are going” – Lilia Momplé, Neighbours: The Story of a Murder

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