An Elegy for Easterly : Stories (Hardcover)

from LadyN

Petina Gappah's debut collection of short stories about characters living under the Mugabe regime is an easy but thought-provoking read. All human life is here, from the student in a mental institution to the polititian's wife, and while their stories are all different, they all tell of a struggl...

from literarytiger

A truly stunning short story collection. Every story is written simply but is so full of life. It shows the different worlds inhabited by people who are all joined by Mugabe's Zimbabwe. Each story gave enough detail to nudge your imagination, but not so much that you couldn't fill in your own par...

from sanddancer

Horrific political regimes do at least seem to produce some interesting literature, and this collection of short stories is no exception. Whilst Mugabe doesn't feature directly in many of the stories, the impact of his oppressive regime and the tragedies of the instability in Zimbabwe can be felt...

from jameskilgore

Gappah writes in the wonderfully minimalist style of one of Zimbabwe's classical writers, Charles Mungoshi. Yet, her stories are not idyllic memories of the past but crunching reminders of the present day reality of a once proud, achieving country sunken into the abyss. Gappah's attention to the ...

from gayla.bassham

Probably 3 1/2 stars, really, but I'm in a generous mood and the next-to-last story in this book was stellar. What stands out in this collection is the sense of place; Gappah does a great job with the milieu, and that held my interest even when the plots and characters were basically the same kin...