Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night

Short stories exploring the lives and circumstances of African women in South Africa, all told with insight humor and vitality, this collection is a forceful document of injustices. In the opening story, a woman leaves her mud hut--and her five young children--to flee to the misty mountains beyond her village. She had been awake at night, in despair, considering where their next meal would come from. Her move is incomprehensible--the youngest child is still nursing. Then one comment gives meaning to the whole: "To be a good mother I must leave." Her mother-in-law will take over, she hopes. It is only later that we learn, she has become hired help in a white household to earn money to support her family.This collection of superb short stories was voted one of Africa's Best 100 Books.