The Heinemann Book of South African Short Stories

by Denis Hirson

The issue of apartheid pervades this vibrant collection of 27 South African short stories written between 1945 and 1992.

Genres: Short Stories, Africa

248 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 1994

Reviews

[B.]

This was a mixed bag where I dnfd most of the stories. How are these the best??? And so many white south africans in the collection, and all of them relatively old (between 37 and 91/dead at the time of publishing).

Ernst Havemann depicts the prototype of the white "nice guy" it seems, who prides himself on getting along well with the natives but still sees himself as better, as a master, and refuses to listen to what people are actuallu telling him, to the point I had to dnf when he rode his horse on the path because all I wanted at that point was for this man to spontaneously combust so I could stop reading about him.

Basically this is not what I wanted from this collection and I don't think it's worth getting (unless of course you find it for free at the little free library I'm gonna leave it at tomorrow)

[Vicki Beyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful and insightful collection of short stories! All were excellent! The different voices and different perspectives were refreshing (though sometimes also heartbreaking) and took me to a place I’d never been before (notwithstanding I have read other South African literature). It probably helps that I had followed the news at the end of the Apartheid era, and so was familiar with the struggle, but I think that even someone unaware of this tragic history could appreciate the quality of these stories.

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favourite short story

[Mervyn Koots · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting reading, this. I need to re-read a few of the stories before doing justice to a review, however. But it's good to be reminded how many fine writers there have been in SA over the decades. More later...