Miriam Tlali

Soweto Stories

Miriam Tlali was the first black South African female novelist, unfortunately most of her work is out of print except this collection of short stories, published 1989, powerful introduction from the late Lauretta Ngcobo on the South African literary tradition.

These ten stories capture vignettes of city life in Soweto in the 80s a highly contentious period as apartheid was coming to its end, Ttali examines the working conditions, marriage problems, poverty and poor housing, drinking problems, sexual violence and sexism. A lot of the stories also about city life are juxtaposed against past customs and traditions in rural areas, she emphasizes in her stories that most of the problems in the city would be easier to swallow if people were still anchored in their traditions.

I would say this a particularly feminist book as its concerned mostly with the lives of women.

I am now desperately searching for her first novel which the first novel published in English by a black South African woman.

Marion

Miriam Tlali was the first black South African female novelist, unfortunately most of her work is out of print except this collection of short stories, published 1989, powerful introduction from the late Lauretta Ngcobo on the South African literary tradition.

These ten stories capture vignettes of city life in Soweto in the 80s a highly contentious period as apartheid was coming to its end, Ttali examines the working conditions, marriage problems, poverty and poor housing, drinking problems, sexual violence and sexism. A lot of the stories also about city life are juxtaposed against past customs and traditions in rural areas, she emphasizes in her stories that most of the problems in the city would be easier to swallow if people were still anchored in their traditions.

I would say this a particularly feminist book as its concerned mostly with the lives of women.

I am now desperately searching for her first novel which the first novel published in English by a black South African woman.

Soweto Stories

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