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Like a lot of short story collections, there were some good, some bad. Overall, I'd say most of them were pretty good, and I think the collection was boosted by the overall theme, but not by an overall style. The sci-fi, magical, and horroresque stories were really among my favorite, despite those being genres I don't often engage with. I'm looking forward to the next collection.
Contains short story by Siyanda Mohutsiwa, who can be really funny.
RTC
It’s always hard to review a book of short stories, especially when they are written by different authors with some vastly different genres. I loved some of the stories but others I found to be lacking in character and story. Since there is more to like than not, I went for a 3 out of 5 stars.
It took me ages to get through this book! I find it difficult to hop from story to story, character to character without taking some time in between. A real mixed bag - some stories were brilliant, others extremely dull, just as you would expect from any collection I guess. Some authors used the concept of water in really interesting ways.
All the stories in this volume come from the entries to the "Short Story Day Africa" project’s annual short story competition from last year. All are directly or tangentially related to the theme of water, and that spans from water shortages to water symbolism. Many of the authors are South African but others come from Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, Rwanda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.I was interested to read the stories that had mermaid folklore as a basis. I think of mermaids as being very nort...
The book was an interesting picture of the various experiences of Africans in different countries. I enjoyed the diverse and unique way in which each of the stories was told. Definitely worth a read for anyone who is interested in reading writers from this great stretch of dirt that we call home.
In this book,I read things of the sort that I never would have picked up on my own. Tightly woven stories that surprise and transcend. They express a broad diversity of African literature. I enjoyed the ones leaning toward magic and myth and mermaids the most.
Some excellent stories.
Interview with first place winner Cat Hellisen: http://shortstorydayafrica.org/news/t...Interview with second place winner Alex Latimer: http://shortstorydayafrica.org/news/h...Interview with third place winner Mark Winkler: http://shortstorydayafrica.org/news/i...Interview with the editor Nick Mulgrew: http://shortstorydayafrica.org/news/i...To the African writers telling African stories with African readers in mind: Short Story Day Africa salutes you. Be brave. Keep writing. – Karina Szczurek
African culture is laid out through these writers interpretation of one thing: Water. Told through the medium of history, folklore, dystopia, murder-mystery, fantasy and realism, the book emcompasses a truly diverse range of stories. Each is different and beautiful and fully formed, even in their brevity. It shouldn't need saying that you can't make broad claims about a whole continent, especially one as big as Africa, but often people do. By telling 'Water' through so many interpretations the...
Ah It's always good to read stories about home, Africa and South Africa in a little book about water. All the familiar characters and places and language, it's quite comforting in a way. That said, I expected more from these shorts, especially surrounding the theme of water, I wanted so much to be moved or excited and that didn't really happen. But while I found most of this collection just okay, I really really liked The Lake Retba Murder, Native Mayonnaise, The tale of the three water carriers...
All the stories are recently written, and some are very good. Maybe the book should be called Water: short stories from white South Africa and beyond. Eight out of 21 stories were by South Africans, most with European surnames; many of the others were from neighbouring countries.
I LOVE WATER. Such great writing. Each short story was a different drop. One of the best short stories I have ever read
Really loved this collection of short stories.such a variety of writing styles and genres.I especially enjoyed the story Oasis - and how there are no standard (he/she) pronouns used throughout the story.
