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51st out of 327 books
—
93 voters
An Elegy for Easterly: Stories
A woman in a township in Zimbabwe is surrounded by throngs of dusty children but longs for a baby of her own; an old man finds that his new job making coffins at No Matter Funeral Parlor brings unexpected riches; a politician’s widow stands quietly by at her husband’s funeral, watching his colleagues bury an empty casket. Petina Gappah’s characters may have ordinary hopes...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
May 26th 2009
by Faber & Faber
(first published 2009)
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This debut short-story collection by Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah is a wonderful read. The tone of each one is perfect: the language is consistently beautiful but also completely natural. You get to know the characters very quickly, through small details artfully described, and are left at just the right moment to move on to the next tale.
The title gives a clue to what's in store. "Elegy" is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "A song of lamentation, esp. a funeral song or lament for...more
The title gives a clue to what's in store. "Elegy" is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "A song of lamentation, esp. a funeral song or lament for...more
I liked these stories separately and together. Almost all are set in the Zimbabwe of the dictator Robert Mugabe, sometimes with a minor backstory from the time of the guerrilla war. In the one story set outside Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwean man whose life and understanding are constrained by the various kinds of poverty he brings with him from Zimbabwe tries to cope in Europe but is betrayed by his own limitations and by other Africans. Readers will see the latter kind of understated, almost hidden, be...more
This is a beautiful collection of beautiful stories by a beautiful writer . . . okay, I need to find a new adjective.
Petina Gappah is an author who I followed online long before I read an actual book by her – she has a fantastic blog and a biting sense of humor. She lives in Harare, Zimbabwe, and has a background in law (if I remember correctly). Also, according to her Blogspot profile, she’s currently working on a novel. This makes me happy.
Back to the beautiful stories. Gappah’s characters hai...more
Petina Gappah is an author who I followed online long before I read an actual book by her – she has a fantastic blog and a biting sense of humor. She lives in Harare, Zimbabwe, and has a background in law (if I remember correctly). Also, according to her Blogspot profile, she’s currently working on a novel. This makes me happy.
Back to the beautiful stories. Gappah’s characters hai...more
Mar 05, 2009
Asha
marked it as to-read
A pre-emptive offer was made via agent Claire Paterson at Janklow & Nesbit. The short stories anthology An Elegy for Easterly will be published in the UK first, with an April 2009 launch, coming out in the US in June. The novel The Book of Memory has been scheduled for publication in spring
2010.
Both works deal with issues faced by Zimbabweans, including the ongoing hyper-inflation and life under president Robert Mugabe's regime. Lee Brackstone, publishing director for fiction at Faber in the...more
2010.
Both works deal with issues faced by Zimbabweans, including the ongoing hyper-inflation and life under president Robert Mugabe's regime. Lee Brackstone, publishing director for fiction at Faber in the...more
Fascinating stories about present-day Zimbabwe. The main characters are men, women, children, from all walks of life. Gappah is a great writer. The world she describes is really sad; this book lacks the uplifting faith of Baking Cakes in Kigali. But the book has great power. One especially heart-wrenching story was about a wedding, where the bridegroom clearly had AIDS. But no one wanted to say anything to the bride -- who must have known. Another talks about a man's longing for a "small house"...more
There are those who write fiction in order to educate, to say "This is how things are done, this is what you must know, read and learn". But in my opinion, education is not the primary aim of fiction. Fiction must, above all, bring the reader a gripping story, characters that we want to follow, to see what happens to them. This is where Petina Gappah excels: first and foremost, she tells great stories, and, almost incidentally, we learn as we read. We learn about Zimbabwe, the rhythms of its lan...more
Through this series of short stories Petina Gappah brings modern life in Zimbabwe to life with a keen eye and sharp contrasts. Her graphic illustrations of the problems of living in a country ravaged by the economic incompetence of its arrogant dictator is written with such passion that one can smell the smells, hear the children's shrieks and crying, whilst sharing the frustrations and yearning to escape of the people she describes.
This may be fiction, but it mirrors so closely what is really...more
This may be fiction, but it mirrors so closely what is really...more
This is an outstanding collection of short stories about life in Mugabe's Zimbabwe. The stories range from just before the election of Mugabe through to recent times. Some stories are humourous, some are full of pathos, some explore political or social issues and some are just enjoyable stories. Gappah has revealed Zimbabwe through the lives of a range of unique and individual characters. She has explored her country from the viewpoint of the wealthy and the poor, from the rural and city areas,...more
An interesting collection of short stories that gives a well-presented glance into Zimbabwean conditions today. The stories touch many levels of society, from the well-off and politically-connected to the very poor and lost. I liked some of the stories very much - found them authentic and revealing - a few less so, but I kept on reading right to the end and was glad I did. If you have experience with this remarkable country, this collection will say something to you; and if you don't it will pro...more
I have been researching Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean history for about a year now and I have found this collection of short stories - though fictional - the most helpful and insightful of all. In just a few sentences, Guppah is able to recreate the atmosphere of Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe. There are many stories here (an Elegy for Easterly, Something nice from London,Cracked Pink Lips of Rosie's Bridegroom) that will forever remain vivid in my mind. They are stark, humourous and dark all at...more
Since I have been in this country in good period, after so called black revolution..for me this book was so touching as story which is fiction but talking about history.How it is possible to fail down so deeply because of abnormal leader..
Each story is however told very simple but very honest..so that you could feel emotions of this people from novels. You could feel because it sound so realistic..and we know that is..
Why is this happening in this world..
Each story is however told very simple but very honest..so that you could feel emotions of this people from novels. You could feel because it sound so realistic..and we know that is..
Why is this happening in this world..
Trying again for the Amsterdam Waterstone's book club, May 2010 (cancelled last month, boo).
Ugh!!!! Cancelled again!!!!
It was indeed ok (should I have given it two stars? I hate how this rating system is skewed! 'Ok' should be the middle category). The stories were interesting, although none of them imprinted upon me too deeply. They began to blur together after a while as the pages whisked by. Many reviews I've come across note that these stories contain basic human truths, despite the tragic s...more
Ugh!!!! Cancelled again!!!!
It was indeed ok (should I have given it two stars? I hate how this rating system is skewed! 'Ok' should be the middle category). The stories were interesting, although none of them imprinted upon me too deeply. They began to blur together after a while as the pages whisked by. Many reviews I've come across note that these stories contain basic human truths, despite the tragic s...more
This was a nice collection of stories, written in first person, like an observation on life. The writing was good, easy to read, transported the reader to the place where the story was. This writer brings a raw accounting of circumstances her characters find themselves living through. It is a matter-of-fact description (by the character) that I think has to come from someone who's life is closer to survival-at-best than mine is. I recommend the book.
This is not the greatest fiction I've read, but the Zimbabwean settings and characters are new for me, so the stories turned out very interesting. So much Karanga or other Zimbabwean language is scattered throughout, so the average American reader can't process a significant portion of the content. A knowledge of political names (beyond Mugabe) and historic events would also have given me a richer reading experience. Now I have a better understanding of modern Zimbabwe. I shouldn't have been sur...more
To be called "a fine writer" by J.M. Coetzee is no small accomplishment. I picked up this book unsure whether I would understand the canvas of the stories, mostly set in the author's native Zimbabwe, but came away astonished at the writing's ability to communicate with the reader. If you are at all curious of a human perspective of what rampant inflation, political corruption and disease can do to a country and its people, this is a good book for you.
This is a beautiful but uneven collection of shorts stories from Zimbabwe. Put together they give an excellent picture of Mugabe's country: the corruption, the poverty, and people's will to survive.
Some stories are truly memorable like Something Nice From London. Another favorite of mine is the slice-of-life piece, In The Heart of the Golden Triangle about the "joy" of being a mistress to a rich man.
Some stories are truly memorable like Something Nice From London. Another favorite of mine is the slice-of-life piece, In The Heart of the Golden Triangle about the "joy" of being a mistress to a rich man.
A collection of short stories set in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe's regime. Admittedly, I didn't know much about day-to-day life in Zimbabwe and couldn't really even conjure up an image. But the fictional characters in these stories put a face on a country I didn't know much about. It was beautifully written: touching in places, humorous in others. My main complaint about this book is that I wish it was longer.
I heard this author interviewed on NPR and decided to pick up the book. It's a collection of short stories all set in the author's native Zimbabwe. I quite enjoyed the collection, although a couple of the stories didn't grab me. I know next to nothing about Zimbabwe and really enjoyed learning a little bit about the country via these stories. Quick read. Includes some fairly frank treatment of AIDS and sex.
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Mar 26, 2013
Rock Angel
marked it as to-read
I found this author from a catchy titled article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/opi...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/opi...
The short story isn't normally my genre of choice but I really enjoyed this selection of thirteen of Gappah's stories of life in Zimbabwe, so much so that I read the last seven or so in one weekend sitting.
From the perspective of a satisfying array of characters Mugabe's Zimbabwe is depicted with equal measures of tenderness and bitter irony. Misogyny, political hypocrisy, AIDS, mental health, the poverty caused by crippling inflation are all subtly evoked in these well crafted stories.
The eleg...more
From the perspective of a satisfying array of characters Mugabe's Zimbabwe is depicted with equal measures of tenderness and bitter irony. Misogyny, political hypocrisy, AIDS, mental health, the poverty caused by crippling inflation are all subtly evoked in these well crafted stories.
The eleg...more
I was unimpressed by a few of the stories --including the title story-- but a handful of particularly endearing characters finally won me over.
I'm amazed at how similar Zimbabwe life seems to Latin American life (at least, Argentina during its worst crisis; for instance, the hyperinflation).
I'm amazed at how similar Zimbabwe life seems to Latin American life (at least, Argentina during its worst crisis; for instance, the hyperinflation).
A revolutionary’s wife barters her silence for a seat in the Senate. A woman weds for wealth but receives a deadly virus. Short-story writer Gappah trains her satiric wit on her Zimbabwean homeland, where the powerful struggle against inflation and the powerless cope.
A collection of short stories by a Zimbabwean woman who is a lawyer living now in Geneva. The setting, in Zimbabwe, immediately invites comparisons with Chimimanda Adichie from Nigeria — but it lacks that immediacy and intimacy somehow. 3 1/2*
Somewhere between a 3 and 4. I loved the vivid life in these stories. My favorites were probably the one about the young woman scrambling to live abroad and the unfortunate fellow caught in the e-finance hoax. I'd love to read her next book.
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This book is a series of short stories set in Zimbabwe. Little cameos of life under Mugabe, for the most part. Not a very sophisticated book, but does give an idea of the hardships across all income levels, but particular among the poor, and the recently poor due to Mugabe's mismanagement of the country.
It is really hard to say which was my favourite story, I liked them all. I thoroughly enjoyed the humour and wit employed by Petina. I look forward to reading her future works ( I know she is in the middle of writing another novel).
In my wildest dreams I could never be this cynical and tough. These stories are really ambitious and not all of them work perfectly, but the first 5 or 6 especially are the most amazing.
I wouldn't normally read short stories, but this collection was excellent. All based in Zimbabwe and laced with a spot of both humour and reality.
Enjoyed a lot. Short stories set in current day Zimbabwe. Quite scathing. Well worth reading if you enjoy short stories!
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Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer with law degrees from Cambridge, Graz University, and the University of Zimbabwe. Her short fiction and essays have been published in eight countries. She lives with her son Kush in Geneva, where she works as counsel in an international organisation that provides legal aid on international trade law to developing countries.
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