Sharmilla, and Other Portraits

Featuring short stories that deliberately avoid references to the apartheid era, this literary collection introduces a new kind of South African literature about social transition. The edgy narratives follow a cast of characters, including a stadium manager, an AIDS patient, an office secretary, and displaced children, mothers, and domestic workers, as they cope with their situations. The result is a compelling cycle of radiant discoveries and secret undercurrents as the characters grope toward the future.