The House of Hunger
R200.00
Marechera made an immediate impact with the publication of The House of Hunger. The novella and nine short stories, most of them set in Zimbabwe, symbolise both home and country as the ‘house of hunger’, the place of madness and violence and despair. Marechera describes a world in which tenderness has long given way to the tactics of survival, and he does so in a style at once explosive and loaded with angry humour.
Author(s): Dambudzo Marechera
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Sweet Medicine takes place in Harare at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic woes in 2008. Tsitsi, a young woman, raised by her strict, devout Catholic mother, believes that hard work, prayer and an education will ensure a prosperous and happy future. She does well at her mission boarding school, and goes on to obtain a scholarship to attend university, but the change in the economic situation in Zimbabwe destroys the old system where hard work and a degree guaranteed a good life.
Out of university, Tsitsi finds herself in a position much lower than she had set her sights on, working as a clerk in the office of the local politician, Zvobgo. With a salary that barely provides her a means to survive, she finds herself increasingly compromising her Christian values to negotiate ways to get ahead.
Sweet Medicine is a thorough and evocative attempt at grappling with a variety of important issues in the postcolonial context: tradition and modernity; feminism and patriarchy; spiritual and political freedoms and responsibilities; poverty and desperation; and wealth and abundance.
Author(s): Panashe Chigumadzi
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Maxine escapes an abusive polygamous marriage to a man much older than her to make a new life in Harare, Zimbabwe. The story follows the five madams she works for. Through them, we see the struggles of women trying to hold down careers and relationships in a big city where tradition, patriarchy, domestic abuse and unhealthy societal behaviours form a backdrop. While Maxine bears witness to the women’s lives, she also tries to work through her own issues, finding a way to free herself of the cruel man she married and experience meaningful relationships.
The book explores women learning about and seeking the love they feel they deserve. Whether self-love or romantic love, each woman must find the courage to believe in and hold onto that love. Through Maxine’s narration, the intricacies of the relationship women share with their helpers are uncovered. These relationships reveal the truth that women can discover themselves via their friendships with other women.
Author(s): Makanaka Mavengere-Munsaka
A collection of short stories, in the detail of their varied backgrounds, range in location from rural Transkei and township life in the Cape to central New York. They have in common also, as before, the authors’ perceptive and vivid creation of memorable characters, whether hilarious or tragic.
Author: Sindiwe Magona
He is speaking in a hushed tone, as if this is a forbidden subject. ‘He said there were twins here, boys. He said their father died on the day they were born.’ He stops and squints as if trying to remember something. ‘I’m not sure if I’m getting the story right, but there were other twins before, but they all died. The father must have done something because these two lived, only them, and then he died. They were good children, that’s what my father said, but then one day they must have been 14 years old…’ He stops when he hears a gasp.
‘What happened? What did they do?’ Qhawe asks. ‘They killed a priest. He was one of those that were recruiting people o join a church, and most people here believed him and followed him. He built a school and stuff. The twins went to that school. But he must have made them very angry because…’ ‘How did they kill him?’-Mqhele
The man shrugs before he speaks. ‘From what I was told, they slit his throat and left him sitting on a chair, bleeding to death.’ There’s silence. The man is telling the story like its an urban legend, but they know, it is a familiar one. ‘Is that what you wanted to know?’ the man asks, looking at Sisekelo. He doesn’t answer. ‘So, what happened to the twins’ mother?’ Qhawe asks. The man sighs deeply. ‘They burnt her alive.’
Author: Dudu Busani-Dube
In the fictional West African nation Kangan, newly independent of British rule, the hopes and dreams of democracy have been quashed by a fierce military dictatorship. Chris Oriko is a member of the cabinet of the president for life, one of his oldest friends. When the president is charged with censoring the oppositionist editor of the state-run newspaper–another childhood friend–Chris’s loyalty and ideology are put to the test. The fate of Kangan hangs in the balance as tensions rise and a devious plot is set in motion to silence the firebrand critic.
Author(s): Chinua Achebe
Mukoma wa Ngugi’s Nairobi Heat was heralded as “the work of a genius craftsman and wordsmith” by New Africa Magazine. In Killing Sahara we once again join Ishmael Forfona – the world-weary US detective – and O – his irrepressible Kenyan counterpart – as they set up their sleuthing business together in Nairobi. It promises to be a hell of a ride.
Dying in New York is a haunting story of Lerato Malema, a young and irrepressible South African whose wit and resilience shine through despite the abuse she has endured from before the age of twelve at the hands of her father, Thabo.
The narrative opens in a psychiatrist’s office overlooking the Hudson river. Against a backdrop of the magnificent Manhattan skyline, Lerato paints an absorbing picture of her decade long journey from Johannesburg to the united States. Her story transitions seamlessly from the sessions with Dr Evelyn Webber, her psychiatrist, to her escape from an abusive home and her experience of the underbelly of modern South Africa.
At its heart, Dying in New York is a story of hope and deep longing, made all the poignant by Lerato’s startling candour from the first page until the book’s surprising conclusion.
Author: Ekow Duker
Ada has always been unusual. Her parents prayed her into existence, but something must have gone awry. Their troubled child begins to develop separate selves and is prone to fits of anger and grief.When Ada grows up and heads to college in America, a traumatic event crystallises the selves into something more powerful. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind, these ‘alters’ – now protective, now hedonistic – take control, shifting her life in a dangerous direction.
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
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A family struggle to make ends meet in the township and to better themselves. The book deals with the desire to give up, but also answers it’s own question with an affirmation of what things make life worthwhile.
Author(s): EM Damane
Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all.
Marked by the same wry humour that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic.
Author: Haruki Murakami
Childhood friends, Liwa Nile and Noel Glass grow up in Port Alfred bound by hope and pure love for each other. But their deep dark desires bring in sinister trails of lust, murder and unclassified sexual escapades to the heart of Melrose Arch.
When Liwa loses her beloved father, hear dear friend Noel comes to the rescue. As they grow their architecture business, it emerges that Noel is no ordinary painter. Her love for darkness quickly turns Liwa’s wet bed into a nightmare.
With every break of dawn, a soul falls. More bodies are soon disappearing and their business is thriving.
Tyson Manson seeks sexual pleasure. So when a love affair boils over, he discovers more than expected. As he digs deeper into their past, more worms fill in the missing pieces. Will his findings destroy the bondages of a long-standing friendship?
When public relations consultant and ex Journalist Lucy Khambule- young, beautiful and ambitious receives an unexpected call from Napoleon Dingiswayo — a convicted serial killer, nicknamed The Butcher by the media — her life takes a dramatic turn. Dingiswayo wants Lucy to tell his story. Intrigued by Dingiswayo’s approach, Lucy decides to takes this opportunity to fulfill her life-long dream of writing a book, but it comes at a cost she could never have imagined.
After their initial contact, Dingiswayo becomes an all too obliging subject an Lucy soon discovers that her choice of topic is not for the faint hearted. Soon after meeting him in Pretoria’s notorious prison C-Max prison, Lucy’s world is turned upside down by a series of violent and disturbing events.
Dingiswayo is behind bars, but Lucy begins to suspect that the brutal attacks may have something to do with him. Who is this frightening man, and what motivates him? As Lucy learns that there is more to Dingiswayo’s story than the police discovered, she is forced to decide what price she is willing to pay to pursue her dream.
Author: Angela Makholwa
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