Haunting snapshots of human moments. Some of the stories left me scratching my head while others are permanently seared into the recesses of my mind. These intriguing short stories take place in South Africa, so many of the cultural references are disorienting. However, the author’s insights into humanity are raw and poignant. These are not feel-good stories, but they have a truth to them that packs an emotional punch.

This book really did very little for me. Short stories are not my favourite genre but I like them at least to have a plot that can be followed. Unfortunately most of these failed to have even a plot "Akere" was just a rambling mess of literary designs that did not work such as counting chapters backwards. There were a few that i liked - generally this of 4 or 5 pages rather than 20 or so or even the very short ones. There is obviously a theme of race / discrimination in a recently post apartheid South Africa. " care plan" appealed to me whilst DD goes to hospital made me shudder at his treatment. I expect there is an audience out there for this sort of book - it just isn't me.

What sort of short stories do you like? I prefer completed narratives, in other words just like a novel only shorter. This collection wasn’t it. These were snippets, sketches, glimpses into fictional lives of modern South Africa and as such, while culturally interesting, fictionally unsatisfying. The writing itself was quite good, but there wasn’t meat as it were to the book. Kind of like going to a museum and only seeing outlines instead of the actual works of art. Of, course, to go with that metaphor not every book can be a work of art, but at least it seems like a worthy aspiration. The again this might work for some readers, for pure language appreciation. Or maybe for poetry lovers. Or maybe for someone who needs to be reminded once again how crappy life in Africa seems to be, irrespective of location. But it wasn’t for me. Quick read, but that’s about it really. Thanks Netgalley.

I got this book as I followed a link on Twitter but I never requested it and I'm not interested in it