The Granta Book of the African Short Story

Helon Habila (ed)

African short stories from the metaphorical children of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and Ngugi Wa 'Thiongo. Any book that includes this range of authors and ends with the wonders of Camara Laye and Alex La Guma has to be worth reading. Give yourself a treat. Discover the adrenalin rush, lyricism, joy, beauty, excitement, compassion and humanity of African writers. You will not be disappointed - no chance. So - Hamba Kahle (Go well)!

Extract

For days afterwards, as Majdy put his key in the lock, as he turned it, he would brace himself for that same scene; he would fear a reoccurrence. He had been happy that day. While she sat at home with a frozen heart, he had glimpsed a modest success, a slight breakthrough in his work. A paper he had been looking for, a paper written five years ago in his area of work, was located in another library. And he had gone there, to that college on the other side of London, an event in itself, for he was always at the library or using the mainframe computer.

Parallels