Title: The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales
Author: Bessie Head
Publisher: Longman
Year:1992
109 pages
I've been reading a lot about Africa in general and Botswana in particular this year, and the evidence for how much I've learned is that this short story collection was nicely illuminated by my previous explorations. It would have been enjoyable even without the background knowledge, but the stories, which tell tales about peoples lives in their villages (not folktales, as might be inferred), just lit up. Head is a strong writer who doesn't pull any punches. Her narratives are frank about the status of women, sexuality, violence, politics, religion, superstition, and jealousy. Fortunately, much of her oeuvre is available in Heinemann's African authors collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment