Flowers of the Nation

by Sandile Memela

This novel is straight out of the streets of Gauteng or any part of an urbanized South Africa. It is Soweto as Sowetans know and experience it. It portrays a raw and uncompromising take on the reality and problematic environment of a society in moral rupture. But it is told as the simple and gripping story of two young Soweto girls. Sixteen year-old Zenzele is not prepared to stand by while her father, Sizwe, dies of AIDS. Instead, she and her little sister Mpumelelo journey from the townships to an exclusive Pretoria suburb to find their estranged Uncle Vusi and ask for his help. Who will they encounter on the way? Will they reach their destination unscathed? And can the rifts between brothers and communities be healed. Flowers of the Nation shatters the myth that impoverishment and blackness go together, showcases the black Renaissance man, and provides a searing indictment of AIDS policy and other issues. In the beautiful Zenzele and her family, you will find the compelling reality of today's South Africa.

95 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2005