This novella does so much in very few pages. Almost everything about humanity is rolled up in it. Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun is a reader’s entertainment. At the centre of the narrative is a sort of characterisation that astounds you. This book builds interesting characters that linger on and live […]
Rereading “Farad” as “The Sound of Things to Come”
The Sound of Things to Come is daringly experimental. It’s unlike your normal novel. This is an unusual novel that partly reads like a collection of short stories. Emmanuel Iduma uses this book to blur rigid classification of literature. I think this book should not be classified as a novel, a collection or as whatever. […]
We Are All Blue by Donald Molosi (A Review)
We Are All Blue is an artful compression of Botswanan history. Almost everything you need to know about that country is in it. How Donald Molosi manages to compress these things marvels me. We Are All Blue is a collection of two plays: Blue, Black and White and Motswana: Africa, Dream Again. The first play […]
GAMBIT: Newer African Writing (A Review)
….a gambit is an opening move, one that takes risks and accepts initial setbacks to establish a long-term winning strategy. – Shaun Randol The game show we attempt to contravene is one that thrives on the immediacy of acclaim, one that judges a writer’s impact by the fervor on social media – Emmanuel Iduma Gambit […]
#2016CainePrize: In Conversation with Abdul Adan
This is the first in our 2016 Caine Prize interview series. Here, Joseph Omotayo interviewed Abdul Adan, one of the 2016 Caine Prize shortlisted writers. Abdul Adan is a Kenyan writer. His shortlisted story is The Lifebloom Gift. His work has appeared in African magazines like Kwani, Jungle Jim, Gambit, Okike, Storytime, SCARF and […]
2016 Caine Prize Shortlist (A Review)
You should read this year’s Caine Prize shortlisted stories, they explore interesting themes. This year’s shortlist pulls away from Africa’s staple woes of hunger, hopelessness, lapsing institutions and what have you. One can say, recently, the Caine Prize has been toeing a relief path of newness. These stories touch issues that put imagination to test. […]