Short stories
The Will to Die
Can Themba · 1972
Synopsis
Short stories and reportage from the 1950s, set for the most part in Sophiatown, a black neighbourhood of Johannesburg, shortly before its demolition. In “The Suit”, the best known, Philemon catches his wife Matilda with a lover who runs away leaving his suit behind; he demands that she henceforth treat the garment as a guest of honour, at table and on walks. The reportage follows a black man who tries to enter white churches, the regime's violence against black people, and educated men caught between two cultures, in a tone that ranges from protest to comedy.
Context
The collection appeared in 1972 in London, five years after its author's death, in Heinemann's African Writers Series; Donald Stuart and Roy Holland had made the selection. The book remained banned in South Africa until the 1980s. “The Suit”, first published in 1963, was staged in Johannesburg by Mothobi Mutloatse and Barney Simon in 1994, then in Paris in 1999 by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne under the title Le Costume; Brook took up there episodes from Sophiatown drawn from the collection.
Who it is for
Short texts in English, between reportage and short story, lively and often funny; not translated into French.
Prizes and reception
Praised by the journal Choice for its mastery of the English language; it contains “The Suit”, its author's best-known short story.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.