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Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe
Edited by Irene Staunton
304 pp
ISBN 0 77922 043 X

Book offers rich collection of short stories
Africa Book Publishing Record
2008:2

Reviewer: James J. Zaffiro

A sequel to the award-winning Writing Still, this new collection of short stories from contemporary Zimbabwean writers, is a must read. Filled with gripping, powerful, and timely stories, it succeeds in pulling the unsuspecting reader downward into the darkest corners, the deep side of the pool, in its choice of themes.

As is true of the first set of stories, Writing Now offers new works from well-known, established writers, including Shimmer Chinodya and Charles Mungoshi, as well as debut fiction by several young, newly-published Zimbabwean writers. The difficult lives of the characters and the vital themes chosen by the authors mirror the difficult, even tragic, state of contemporary life—and death—in one of Africa’s formerly most economically promising new states. Many of the stories center on desperate lives and actions brought about by economic hardship, HIV/AIDS, and deprivation. Human suffering, but also human will and resilience, are on stark display in these stories.

The writing quality is consistently high and the collection is expertly edited. This volume also includes short, useful biographies of all 28 contributors as well as a glossary of key Shona words that occur in some of the stories.

This book would make an excellent anthology in many African and comparative literature courses. Particular stories will also prove extremely effective in politics, sociology, anthropology, and history courses. It is highly recommended for all university and public libraries worldwide.

© The author/publisher

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