Short stories
Children of the Twilight
Moteane Melamu · 1987
Synopsis
These stories follow life in the poor districts and townships of Johannesburg, from Sophiatown to Soweto, with excursions to Mafikeng and Gaborone. The first ones show the absurdity of laws based on race. Others make room for drinkers and men who do not work, set against long-suffering or formidable wives, shebeen keepers, and the false priests and healers who exploit the faith of the humble.
Context
The book appeared in 1987 from Skotaville, a Johannesburg publisher, in a series of which it forms the fifth volume. Melamu then published two other collections, Living and Partly Living and The Unweeded Garden and Other Stories, the latter in 2006, whose stories are set mostly in Gaborone. Academics from his country have since studied the absurd humour and the satire of his stories.
Who it is for
Short stories in English, with tight plots and direct narration; the collection is found mostly second-hand.
Prizes and reception
The collection is among the books cited in New Fiction in English from Africa, by André Viola, Jacqueline Bardolph and Denise Coussy.
Sources for this page 5
The pages consulted to check this page.