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This collection of engaging short stories emanates from the Camdeboo region of South Africas Karoo. They are told by a traditional African griot (career storyteller), Ndabazabantu, who knows all the gossip about the enigmatic as well as the ordinary folk in his town. Partly drawn from Mzuvukiles book, Children from Exile and other Stories (featuring Oom Asval and His Donkey Cart), the stories expose both the struggle to live comfortably in South African townships of old and the harshness of having to deal with the strictures of Apartheid. The Day the Town of Xhogwana almost Collapsed, deals with this second challenge, specifically the prohibition on mixed race relations and degrading treatment of black people under Apartheids Group Areas Act; when blacks had to report to the township superintendents office when visiting places outside their registered hometowns. The author, through Ndabazabantu, tells these stories with humour, pathos and poignancy. While Camdeboo Stories is unique in style and content, the tales are somewhat reminiscent of Herman Charles Bosmans storytelling style and are valuable additions to the stories of the South African platteland.
In the Xhosa language, Ndabazabantu means ‘he who knows all the gossip about the enigmatic, as well as stories of the people of his town or village.’ The character was first created in the author’s collection of short stories, Children from Exile and other Stories. Ndabazabantu’s stories are refreshingly innocent, dramatic and poignant, and most of them hark back to a simpler lifestyle experienced by black folk living in the platteland – small country towns – from the 1950s to the 1980s. Of course, the unsavoury antics of apartheid regime do not escape Ndabazabantu’s satirical and occasionally scathing tongue. But this is not an angry book of recriminatory rhetoric. The author has chosen mainly to reflect on how these people made most of their lives under trying circumstances, and the stories focus on the culture, humour and pathos experienced by those check and jowl in the township known as uMasizakhe. In this collection, the author delves into a wide variety of themes, including culture, religion, anti-Christianity and beliefs in ghosts, mermaids and the tokoloshe. Several of the stories hark back to the author’s previous collection, Camdeboo Stories, providing further details and explanations. This is best seen in ‘Concert in the Church Hall’ where the origin of the conflict between the uncle, Kleynhans, and Charlien is explained. While Stories of Ndabazabantu can be enjoyed on its own, if the reader has read Camdeboo Stories, a total picture will emerge. Could Stories of Ndabazabantu then be classified as a sequel to Camdeboo? I will leave this to the reader and critics. The character and versatility of Ndabazabantu starts to mature in this book. He delves deep into cultural issues such as the dowry, and demonstrates that this is not solely the practice of Africans alone, but is rather a world-wide phenomenon
The Karoo is a vast semi-desert region that extends across parts of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This environmentally important area is the largest ecosystem in the country and is abundant in wildlife, vegetation, and ancient history. The Plains of Camdeboo is a celebration of this remarkable landscape. At first encounter the Karoo may seem arid, desolate and unforgiving, but to those who know it, it is a land of secret beauty and infinite variety. For generations author Eve Palmer's family have lived on the Karoo farm of Cranemere, situated on the Plains of Camdeboo. This family have battled for decades against this harsh desert; they have had to adapt to it, learning to fear, respect, and ultimately love it. First published in 1966, The Plains of Camdeboo has become a classic in South African literature. Here is a book that is not autobiography, not history, not botanical study, but all of these and more, blending into a uniquely vivid and personal account of life in the Karoo. The animals, the insects, the wealth of fossils, the countless flowers that spring miraculously to life after rain - all are woven into this rich and engaging story.
It was all well-ordered, food following on food in its appointed season; and this is a rhythm that has continued for more than a century - it is still very much that of the farm today... 'As there were times for special meats, so there were times for vegetables and fruits in their season - marvellous cabbages and cauliflowers, lettuce, peas, broad beans and parsnips in winter, and also oranges, naartjies, lemons and grapefruit; spring brought green beans, tomatoes, brinjals, green peppers, fennel, marrows, fruit of many kinds; and autumn meant pumpkins and pears, quinces and apples - with the first tang in the air we could smell the quinces.' The pages of Return to Camdeboo provide a refuge from the world of fast food - faithfully recorded recipes and culinary observations from generations of South African farm cooking. Although not strictly a cookbook, it explores the activities of choosing, cooking and eating food, and includes a wide selection of traditional recipes. Spanning well over a hundred years, the writing conveys both the abundance and hardships of life at Cranemere farm (on the Plains of Camdeboo of the Karoo), replete with insight into the existence of Camdeboo dwellers from the distant and recent past. Threads of agricultural and culinary history are intertwined with Eve Palmer's personal reflections and family narratives. Tried and tested by generations of cooks at Cranemere farm, most notably including the author herself; Return to Camdeboo evokes a sense of place and time that will fascinate all with an interest in the pleasures of meals created from local seasonal ingredients.
Koos Krantz, a man classified ‘Coloured’ according to apartheid race classification laws, although erased from statutes in the new post-1994 democratic dispensation in South Africa, still lingers amongst them set himself a journey of recovering his roots. Spending days at the local library where he consumed volumes about the history of his people, the ‘coloured’ discovers that his roots are deep from the Inqua nation of the Kingdom of Keobuha (King) Heijkon that was once the richest and most formidable from as early as the time could tell up till the middle of the 18th century, located in what today could be the territory of Somerset East in the eastern part of the Eastern Cape province, down up to the borders with Uitenhage in the south, Aberdeen in the west, to the borders of the Orange River, the seat of which was at Graaff-Reinet in the center. Koebuha Heijkon ruled his nation with the wisdom of King Solomon until his death round about 1715 when the reigns went to his niece, King Hinsati who unfortunately got entangled in a dispute between a neighboring nation, the Mavela group under King Mvelo who had a dispute with his two siblings, Mavela and Jamani resulting in fierce wars whereafter Mavela won the war resulting in the Inqua under Hinsati conquered and amalgamated in what was to be the Mavequa (Mavela and Inqua) short-lived Kingdom. And it is this root that Koos came to realise that he comes from.
Displayed on European stages from 1810 to 1815 as the Hottentot Venus, Sara Baartman was one of the most famous women of her day, and also one of the least known. As the Hottentot Venus, she was seen by Westerners as alluring and primitive, a reflection of their fears and suppressed desires. But who was Sara Baartman? Who was the woman who became the Hottentot Venus? Based on research and interviews that span three continents, Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus tells the entwined histories of an elusive life and a famous icon. In doing so, the book raises questions about the possibilities and limits of biography for understanding those who live between and among different cultures. In reconstructing Baartman's life, the book traverses the South African frontier and its genocidal violence, cosmopolitan Cape Town, the ending of the slave trade, the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, London and Parisian high society, and the rise of racial science. The authors discuss the ramifications of discovering that when Baartman went to London, she was older than originally assumed, and they explore the enduring impact of the Hottentot Venus on ideas about women, race, and sexuality. The book concludes with the politics involved in returning Baartman's remains to her home country, and connects Baartman's story to her descendants in nineteenth- and twentieth-century South Africa. Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus offers the authoritative account of one woman's life and reinstates her to the full complexity of her history.
The Eastern Cape is a country of great natural beauty and tourist potential, and has produced a wealth of writers and writings that have responded to the landscape in a variety of interesting and enjoyable ways.
Available for a limited time — four complete works by Nerine Dorman. RAVEN KIN Silas is the last of a rare species of alchemical creature, and he’s quite content in his role as his mistress’s favoured companion. Anwyn is kind, and in his eyes a goddess. What more could a griffin ask for? Only all is not perfect in the city of Anfi, where unfortunates are considered chattel, and the shift from noble to slave can happen overnight. Mistresses, however kind, do not possess divine powers. And fate has other plans for Anwyn. Silas must learn all that there is about what it means to be raven kin. Pampered pets don’t live long when they’re left out in the cold. The might of the Janian Empire is great, yet when Silas finds himself embarking on a desperate mission, he discovers that there are things greater even than an empire. And empires crumble. ***** IN SOUTHERN DARKNESS A young woman will go to great lengths to discover the truth behind her ex-boyfriend’s supposed death, even if it means travelling into the unknown, with little or no resources. A vampire and a mortal share a passion for music, and a forbidden mutual fascination at the mercy of greater powers. These two novellas by Nerine Dorman have now been revised and re-released, this time as the In Southern Darkness duology, and reflect a dark vision for lovers of South African speculative fiction. ***** THE GUARDIAN'S WYRD Sometimes having a fairytale prince as a best friend can be a real pain. Jay didn't realise that sticking up for Rowan, the gangly new kid at school, would plunge him into the dangers and politics of the magical realm of Sunthyst. But if anyone is up for the challenge it's Jay September. With his trusty dog, Shadow, at his side, he braves the Watcher in the dark that guards the tunnels between the worlds, and undertakes a dangerous quest to rescue the prince. It's a race against time – can he sneak Prince Rowan away from under King Lessian's nose and bring him safely back home – all before the prince's sixteenth birthday? Or is Rowan's mother, the exiled Queen Persia, secretly trying to hold onto her power by denying her son his birthright? Jay is ready for anything, except, perhaps, the suffocating darkness of the tunnels. And that howling … ***** DAWN'S BRIGHT TALONS They are as night to day–but blood will tell when facing a common enemy. A sought-after dancer in the upmarket Moonlit Garden, Isabeau Letier, has not given her future much thought. All that matters is the art of dance, and charming wealthy patrons into parting with a few extra coins. She has her exotic good looks and her youth. What could possibly go wrong? When a mysterious nobleman pays her undue attention, Isabeau’s darker, bloodthirsty nature awakens and she kills him with her bare hands after he follows her home. Even worse, she drinks and enjoys his blood. Her brother, Eric, returns home to this disturbing tableau yet remains calm even as the corpse sifts to ash in the morning sun. Isabeau has no choice but to follow her sibling’s lead. Not many people know that Michel Roux, owner of a slightly down-at-heel theatre in the District of Paper Lanterns, is a vampire. He prefers to keep things that way and steer clear of the petty politicking of the city's vampiric subculture. When his estranged sire, Tomas, goes missing, and his grandsire sets him the task of solving the mystery, Michel is unwillingly dragged into all of the very dangerous games he thought he’d left behind him. Isabeau and Michel become unlikely allies as they try to wriggle their way out of being the pawns in a game where they don’t know the rules. Isabeau’s ancient heritage is a danger, not only to herself, but to the established hierarchies at odds with one another in the city of Ysul, and the elders are desperate to either control her — or kill her. As events unwind, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate friend from foe, and as the two flee for their lives they must also explore the true nature of the bond that they've forged and uncover the ages-old secrets that have pushed them onto this path. Warring factions are about to overturn centuries of custom, and two young people are marked to pay the price — in blood.
Honouring strong new voices from around the world, the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is a global award, open to unpublished as well as published writers, with a truly international judging panel. This global anthology presents the winner of the 2014 Short Story Prize, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s “Let’s Tell This Story Properly,” alongside some of the most promising and original stories entered for the prize during the past three years by emerging writers across the literary landscape of the world. Gathered from over ten thousand entries, the selected stories are provocative, rich in flair and ambition, and push the boundaries of fiction into fresh territory.