What do you think?
Rate this book
Eletseha
Crushed by the end of her marriage, Eletseha vacillates between despairing that she has made a major mistake and hoping that she might find love, in her future, that makes her grateful for the unpleasant chapter of her life that has just started.
Determined to suffer as little as possible, she moves home to enjoy the cocoon of love and attention she will find in her childhood home.
Single motherhood is not easy but her aspirations for her young progeny give her a renewed vigour for life and all that it promises.
A chance encounter with a fellow parent, during orientation at her child’s new school, marks the beginning of a whirlwind existence.
She is in for the ride of her life, experiencing budding love and mounting responsibilities in the form of an adopted young charge.
Is Eletseha destined to find the love she never had in her former marriage?
Determined to suffer as little as possible, she moves home to enjoy the cocoon of love and attention she will find in her childhood home.
Single motherhood is not easy but her aspirations for her young progeny give her a renewed vigour for life and all that it promises.
A chance encounter with a fellow parent, during orientation at her child’s new school, marks the beginning of a whirlwind existence.
She is in for the ride of her life, experiencing budding love and mounting responsibilities in the form of an adopted young charge.
Is Eletseha destined to find the love she never had in her former marriage?
124 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2023
1 person want to read
About the author
Tumelo Moleleki
21 books64 followersI am a #selfpublished author of 15 books
Growing up, I played diketo and made toys with clay. I played with both sexes, when minding the cattle I would play boys games and when fetching water or firewood or doing laundry down the ravine I would play girls games. I was born in the now Gauteng province but being a black person, I was not allowed to be registered as having been born there so I was registered as having been born in the district of Mount Fletcher.
I had a normal childhood for one raised in the bundus and I loved my life. My grandmother is my mother and my mother is my sister, that is how it was and that is how it remains in my psyche.
I started school at the age of 5, my best friends were my cousin and a girl who lived with my aunt-in-law.
My grandmother was rather strict, did not like us going to people's homes, even relatives. She was so dignified, everyone in the village respected her in a way that spoke of a respect that is inspired by the dignity one possesses. We were considered one of the more fortunate families.
I was teased a lot for my dark skin and my 'English nose'. I was told that I was ugly by just about everyone with the exception of those who loved me enough to see beauty in me.
I am still psychologically messed up from the taunts I suffered at the hands of other children and I cry sometimes when I think about them.
When I was in my teens I was sent to live with my aunt because my grandmother did not want to send me to boarding school and there were no high schools nearby.
While living with my aunt, I suffered a great deal of racial hatred from the community where my aunt lived. I was spat on and beat up. I was mocked further about my darkness and ridiculed for resembling boys. I was even put in a boys ward when I was admitted in a private clinic to have my tonsils removed. The mistake was later corrected but not before I had suffered the trauma of being in a hospital gown with a gaping back and no underwear in the boy's ward. God was my only protection because I might have been attacked but I was not.
I struggled for the right to do normal Math at school because I was deemed too stupid to handle it by the teachers of the model c school that was supposed to be the place where I got better education. I struggled to get my ID and struggled also to get my tertiary education going. I struggled to make it up the corporate ladder and I struggled to get published. My life is a series of struggles.
I started my degree via correspondence while working as a consultant and completed it after six years. I failed along the way because sometimes work had to take priority over studies since it was the means by which I could undertake those studies.
I take nothing for granted in my life because I had to fight for it all. I am eternally grateful to those who offer me genuine support and those who refrain from using me. As a young person I grappled with my disease to please syndrome. I no longer care that people think I am black and ugly, I know that those who love me find me beautiful and perhaps one day I shall stop seeing myself through the eyes of those who saw ugly when they saw me. For now, the love of a man from Algeria is healing my self-esteem issues because it proves once and for all that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I have made many acquaintances in my life and God has been there for me always.
Side note: I grew up not knowing my father so I am partial to women because they are the ones who have been there for me all my life.
Growing up, I played diketo and made toys with clay. I played with both sexes, when minding the cattle I would play boys games and when fetching water or firewood or doing laundry down the ravine I would play girls games. I was born in the now Gauteng province but being a black person, I was not allowed to be registered as having been born there so I was registered as having been born in the district of Mount Fletcher.
I had a normal childhood for one raised in the bundus and I loved my life. My grandmother is my mother and my mother is my sister, that is how it was and that is how it remains in my psyche.
I started school at the age of 5, my best friends were my cousin and a girl who lived with my aunt-in-law.
My grandmother was rather strict, did not like us going to people's homes, even relatives. She was so dignified, everyone in the village respected her in a way that spoke of a respect that is inspired by the dignity one possesses. We were considered one of the more fortunate families.
I was teased a lot for my dark skin and my 'English nose'. I was told that I was ugly by just about everyone with the exception of those who loved me enough to see beauty in me.
I am still psychologically messed up from the taunts I suffered at the hands of other children and I cry sometimes when I think about them.
When I was in my teens I was sent to live with my aunt because my grandmother did not want to send me to boarding school and there were no high schools nearby.
While living with my aunt, I suffered a great deal of racial hatred from the community where my aunt lived. I was spat on and beat up. I was mocked further about my darkness and ridiculed for resembling boys. I was even put in a boys ward when I was admitted in a private clinic to have my tonsils removed. The mistake was later corrected but not before I had suffered the trauma of being in a hospital gown with a gaping back and no underwear in the boy's ward. God was my only protection because I might have been attacked but I was not.
I struggled for the right to do normal Math at school because I was deemed too stupid to handle it by the teachers of the model c school that was supposed to be the place where I got better education. I struggled to get my ID and struggled also to get my tertiary education going. I struggled to make it up the corporate ladder and I struggled to get published. My life is a series of struggles.
I started my degree via correspondence while working as a consultant and completed it after six years. I failed along the way because sometimes work had to take priority over studies since it was the means by which I could undertake those studies.
I take nothing for granted in my life because I had to fight for it all. I am eternally grateful to those who offer me genuine support and those who refrain from using me. As a young person I grappled with my disease to please syndrome. I no longer care that people think I am black and ugly, I know that those who love me find me beautiful and perhaps one day I shall stop seeing myself through the eyes of those who saw ugly when they saw me. For now, the love of a man from Algeria is healing my self-esteem issues because it proves once and for all that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I have made many acquaintances in my life and God has been there for me always.
Side note: I grew up not knowing my father so I am partial to women because they are the ones who have been there for me all my life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 2, 2023
I was still mesmerised by Napo & Eletseha not even realising that i was on the last page of ELETSEHA.
I screamed out loud ‘haibo! It can’t be the End’.
Fiction can provide an avenue for exploring complex and controversial themes, i like how Tumelo Moleleki manage to tell this story with balance. There was a point i had to remind myself that this was fiction.. ha ha.
BUT HEY..
There was a bonus short story that followed, which I would like to talk about: An affair in complications.
The bonus short story delves into the complexities of relationships and explores themes of forbidden love and societal expectations. One amongst those ‘forbidden love’ is a WLW (women loving women) relationship (sexually fluid). I am using ‘forbidden love’ cautiously.
The kicker in this short story for me, is the coming into being of a relationship between a ‘..married woman, happily, raising three adorable children..’ named Zola and a lady (narrator of the story, Nala). When they randomly met they felt the ‘subliminal connection’ between them. It started with ‘innocent’ whatsapp messages, emojis, family introductions, then ultimately..
‘..her lips were firm but supple..’.
The story twisted when everything was immediately put on indefinite stop and Zola calling their relationship ‘a failed experiment’.
Somehow, i was taken aback when i got to this part of the story. The author was brilliant, her ability to capture the nuances of the characters' emotions and desires is commendable. I was captured in the story. I wondered what was to follow?
While it is important to acknowledge and respect the diversity of human experiences and relationships, it is also essential to recognize that infidelity can cause pain and harm to those involved. But, somehow i was rooting for Zola and Nala to reconnect. Don’t ask me why? Let’s rather blame the author because nna Zola le Nala i don’t know them, i was so invested in the story and wished for a positive outcome at the end.
The story of Zola and Nala is the epitome of AN AFFAIR IN COMPLICATIONS. Years later they did reconnect, ‘…i felt no guilt opening the door to Zola as she knocked on my door…we were both trembling, the vibration of our bodies so strong…’
Its only fair to recommended to anyone to go read Eletseha and this bonus short story.
People and their relationships have complications, some stemming from parents expectations and also to an extent the inquisitiveness nature of human beings for trying out ‘experiments’. Others living their lives to please their parents.
The short story was relatable to me and written generously with details.
I am hoping the author’s creative direction will lead her to a follow up short story of:
1. The time Nala was abroad.
2. When Nolo was at the village.
3. Zola’s family with Nala in the picture.
These might provide a further deeper understanding of their experiences and further contribute to the richness of the narrative.
In conclusion, the author, Tumelo Moleleki, continues not to disappoint her readers. The short story AN AFFAIR IN COMPLICATIONS raises important questions about relationships, societal norms, and personal desires. It is indeed a testament to Tumelo Moleleki’s skill in capturing amongst others the intricacies of human emotions.
I screamed out loud ‘haibo! It can’t be the End’.
Fiction can provide an avenue for exploring complex and controversial themes, i like how Tumelo Moleleki manage to tell this story with balance. There was a point i had to remind myself that this was fiction.. ha ha.
BUT HEY..
There was a bonus short story that followed, which I would like to talk about: An affair in complications.
The bonus short story delves into the complexities of relationships and explores themes of forbidden love and societal expectations. One amongst those ‘forbidden love’ is a WLW (women loving women) relationship (sexually fluid). I am using ‘forbidden love’ cautiously.
The kicker in this short story for me, is the coming into being of a relationship between a ‘..married woman, happily, raising three adorable children..’ named Zola and a lady (narrator of the story, Nala). When they randomly met they felt the ‘subliminal connection’ between them. It started with ‘innocent’ whatsapp messages, emojis, family introductions, then ultimately..
‘..her lips were firm but supple..’.
The story twisted when everything was immediately put on indefinite stop and Zola calling their relationship ‘a failed experiment’.
Somehow, i was taken aback when i got to this part of the story. The author was brilliant, her ability to capture the nuances of the characters' emotions and desires is commendable. I was captured in the story. I wondered what was to follow?
While it is important to acknowledge and respect the diversity of human experiences and relationships, it is also essential to recognize that infidelity can cause pain and harm to those involved. But, somehow i was rooting for Zola and Nala to reconnect. Don’t ask me why? Let’s rather blame the author because nna Zola le Nala i don’t know them, i was so invested in the story and wished for a positive outcome at the end.
The story of Zola and Nala is the epitome of AN AFFAIR IN COMPLICATIONS. Years later they did reconnect, ‘…i felt no guilt opening the door to Zola as she knocked on my door…we were both trembling, the vibration of our bodies so strong…’
Its only fair to recommended to anyone to go read Eletseha and this bonus short story.
People and their relationships have complications, some stemming from parents expectations and also to an extent the inquisitiveness nature of human beings for trying out ‘experiments’. Others living their lives to please their parents.
The short story was relatable to me and written generously with details.
I am hoping the author’s creative direction will lead her to a follow up short story of:
1. The time Nala was abroad.
2. When Nolo was at the village.
3. Zola’s family with Nala in the picture.
These might provide a further deeper understanding of their experiences and further contribute to the richness of the narrative.
In conclusion, the author, Tumelo Moleleki, continues not to disappoint her readers. The short story AN AFFAIR IN COMPLICATIONS raises important questions about relationships, societal norms, and personal desires. It is indeed a testament to Tumelo Moleleki’s skill in capturing amongst others the intricacies of human emotions.
November 1, 2025
Ooh my goodness. The author really made us wait for this one. A spin-off from her very first novel, Her Heart. We had to wait and wonder what happens to Eletseha post her divorce and departure from the farm, and boy, weren't we treated to a rollercoaster ride?
I would not want to spoil it for anyone, definitely worth your time and money.
I would not want to spoil it for anyone, definitely worth your time and money.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews