African Delights

by Siphiwo Mahala

A unique literary journey through select critical moments in South African history, this collection of short stories opens in Sophiatown of the 1950s—one of the most definitive periods in South African urban culture—and concludes by exploring the social fabric of contemporary society. Simple yet profound, the stories span generations, demonstrating the painful rhythms of a society in distress in the 1980s through the eyes of a child as well as the transitional period of the 1990s through the life of young man torn between the old and new world, eventually exploring the first decade of South African democracy. Informative and engaging, the narratives examine the interplay of past and present, and prompt a re-examination of the future.

Genres: South Africa, Short Stories, The World, Africa, Contemporary, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Boitshepo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be reviewed in just one paragraph:

In 2012, an author called Ann Morgan, set out to read a book from every single country of the world and after that literary journey,  she came out with African Delights as one of the top ten must-read books in the entire world.

And I absolutely concur.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, the title of this book somewhat reminds me of Bessie Head's The collector of treasures. Short stories. And this work comprises many superb short stories too! The author is a highly talented young - or younger - black writer, from South Africa. Indeed he belongs to the top drawer. He writes convincingly and effortlessly reminding one of literary greats from his country like Es'kia Mphahlele, Lewis Nkosi, and Mandla Langa. Mahala admits the influence of Nat Nakasa for one, but he (Mahala) is an excellent writer in his own respect. This book shows this unambiguously. Firstly, perhaps we should commend the superb imagination of the author; as well as his fluent writing skills; and then again the dialogues. We might also mention his respect for women and family in general - (the author actually pays tribute to his own wife and kids in this work). A charming, touching gesture which rings true. And what about the stories here in this work? Pertinent slices of life which have to be read to appreciate the plotting, the ingenuity, and intelligence of the author; a man who can portray many aspects and classes of life. Indeed he even empathises with women in delightful, almost frightening clarity. In one of the stories he points out the plight, routine, vicissitudes of women in startling manner that might make one flinch. And he zeroes in on the noveau-riche (blacks) and the type of life some of them now live in SA that would have been a pipe-dream to prior generations – decades ago. Once more I must reiterate my respect for the controlled, sophisticated, lambent imagination of the author. Do yourself a favour and read this brilliant work!

[Nkolele Mkhondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

African Delights by Sphiwo Mahala.

African Delights is a collection of short stories and it’s divided into four parts, each part has 3 to 4 short stories that are like the same story from a different point of views. The first part is about The Suit which is like a parody or continuation of The Suit by Can Themba. The second part is White Encounters, which are stories from the perspectives of young black children and their encounters with white people during apartheid. This part is written with this childlike innocence, and it will make you realize the brutality of the apartheid and how it ruined many people’s childhoods. The third part is The Truth which also seemed like a continuation of something that was previously published. In this part we have three different people narrating their version of the truth about the same situation and the last part is called African Delight and it made me throw away this book in anger because what the F#$#%. I was SCREAMING and I could not read anything for days after that.

Please grab this book if you can, it is worth it, trust me it is. And did I say anything about hating short stories before😂? Because I don’t remember. It is very well written, filled with humour and honesty. I can safely say this is one book that made me look at Short Story Anthologies differently.

[Tumelo Moleleki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a long time to finish the book because life happened and I had to step away from all books I was reading until I could resume them again. I enjoyed part 4 of the book... I thought the other stories were alright but the did not engage me as much as African Delights. I liked how it revealed this tendency that people have to use others for things they feel morally above doing. If you are prepared to ask people to do something, you should also be prepared to do it too, otherwise you are an atrocious person and you don't deserve any respect or consideration from others. Zodwa was okay to expose young girls to perverted foreigners but she was not prepared to expose herself. This is what made me like this book and the ending is fitting for a selfish person... That Simba was a genius because until the end he sounded like an upstanding guy. I also like how it sounds like direct translation of the way people speak indigenous languages. The conversation between the character Themba and the old man.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Global Read 188: South Africa

This is an interesting short story collections. It is really 3 separate groupings of related short stories. I had no context going into the book and still really enjoyed the stories. I liked the way each story had a slightly different perspective and the way the stories in each grouping communicated with each other. I've never seen a short story collection like this, where the stories all respond to already existing stories. I had never read The Suit, so I'm not sure wether I would have found Mahala's response to be an interesting reply or just kind of a rip-off. I did really enjoy how the book was really grounded in South African Literature and didn't try to make any explanations for those not familiar with it.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book of stories. They give you a good insight into what was, and is happening in South Africa. The tongue-in-cheek humour which illustrates serious topics is second-to-none. Can't wait to read more by Mahala.

[Tiah]

Another South African short story collection, so of course I had to try it. Different to my norm, as the male characters tend to be 'cool' and trendy and full of macho masculinity. But it is an intriguing collection which leaves much to mull over.

[Ziggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Somehow these just didn't touch me at all, so they were interesting in a very abstract level, but nothing I would ever re-read. I found the language very cold and unemotional and the experiences of the protagonists felt very superficial. Maybe I am not African enough to understand!

[Refiloe Nkadimeng ********** · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is powerful collection of funny and witty african stories told by an african....