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The Caine Prize for African Writing #2011
The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011: To See the Mountain and other stories
The Caine Prize for African Writing is Africa's leading literary prize. For over ten years it has supported and promoted contemporary African writing. Keeping true to its motto "Africa will always bring something new," the prize has helped launch the literary careers of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Segun Afolabi, Leila Aboulela, Brian Chikwava, E. C. Osondu, Henrietta Rose-Innes, Binyavanga Wainaina, and many others.
The 2011 collection will include the five shortlisted stories and the stories written at the Caine Prize Writers' Workshop. It will be published within days of the announcement of the award in July 2011.
The 2011 collection will include the five shortlisted stories and the stories written at the Caine Prize Writers' Workshop. It will be published within days of the announcement of the award in July 2011.
215 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 17, 2014
That's African writing in English of course, which I guess is the shoddy excuse for the number of white guy authors. This is the first Caine Prize book I've read so I wonder if it's standard for South Africa to dominate. Standard griping aside, the title story by (white guy) Ken Barris is really nifty.
NoViolet Bulawayo's win seems fair to me. Her story 'Hitting Budapest' hit me too, in unexpected places. I very much enjoyed a drive through Lagos with Jide Adebayo-Begun in 'Bridge'. Stylistic poles are occupied gracefully by Lauri Kubuitsile's cosily comic 'In the Spirit of McPhineas Lata', Dona Forbin's formal, evocative, thought-provoking 'No Blood, No Slaves' and Olufemi Terry's postmodern malaise-prodding in 'Dark Triad'.
My favourites were from the workshop selection and came towards the end. Alex Smith's 'Wolf Blue' is a beautifully written shifting-perspective story brimming with tasty ideas and keenly observed details. I wonder if I'm going to like her books…
My favourite favourite is Namwali Serpell's 'The Man with the Hole in his Face', kind of about youth tourism in Zambia (and the continent generally). The protagonist's point of view is so delicately sketched, and small human sized ideas of justice and kindness and love hinge the tale so subtly. I can't find any more of her fiction writing but I hope she is working on things!
Oh yeah, and this book is typeset in a really nice font, so I'm rounding up from 3.5 to 4 stars
NoViolet Bulawayo's win seems fair to me. Her story 'Hitting Budapest' hit me too, in unexpected places. I very much enjoyed a drive through Lagos with Jide Adebayo-Begun in 'Bridge'. Stylistic poles are occupied gracefully by Lauri Kubuitsile's cosily comic 'In the Spirit of McPhineas Lata', Dona Forbin's formal, evocative, thought-provoking 'No Blood, No Slaves' and Olufemi Terry's postmodern malaise-prodding in 'Dark Triad'.
My favourites were from the workshop selection and came towards the end. Alex Smith's 'Wolf Blue' is a beautifully written shifting-perspective story brimming with tasty ideas and keenly observed details. I wonder if I'm going to like her books…
My favourite favourite is Namwali Serpell's 'The Man with the Hole in his Face', kind of about youth tourism in Zambia (and the continent generally). The protagonist's point of view is so delicately sketched, and small human sized ideas of justice and kindness and love hinge the tale so subtly. I can't find any more of her fiction writing but I hope she is working on things!
Oh yeah, and this book is typeset in a really nice font, so I'm rounding up from 3.5 to 4 stars
July 11, 2014
Impressive collection of stories from a variety of new African writers. The first five stories are the shortlist from the 2011 Caine Prize competition (also known informally as the African Booker Award), and the rest were from the Caine Prize Writers' Workshop.
The five Caine Prize finalists are all very strong, particularly "Hitting Budapest" by NoViolet Bulawayo (the award winner, although the book was printed before that decision had been made). "Hitting Budapest" tells of six underprivileged Zimbabwean children who visit a wealthy suburb in search of food. I was impressed by the viewpoint character's voice and by the way Bulawayo put a great deal of moral power in her story without being heavyhanded about it. "Butterfly Dreams" by Beatrice Lamwaka also deserves mention for its effective and unusual use of the second-person perspective.
The twelve workshop stories were a bit of a mixed bag. None were "bad," but in general they felt like they could have benefited from a bit more editing/revision (which is probably to be expected of workshop stories). The better ones include Jide Adebayo-Begun's "Bridge," Dona Forbin's "No Blood, No Slaves," Beatrice Lamwaka's "Bottled Memory," Namwali Serpell's "The Man with the Hole in his Face," Alex Smith's "Wolf Blue," and Olufemi Terry's "Dark Triad."
Note: this book should be combined (or maybe merged) with http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10.... This record exists because I tried to add it as another edition of the above book (which has a different title, and at the time had a different cover image), but I must have done something wrong.
The five Caine Prize finalists are all very strong, particularly "Hitting Budapest" by NoViolet Bulawayo (the award winner, although the book was printed before that decision had been made). "Hitting Budapest" tells of six underprivileged Zimbabwean children who visit a wealthy suburb in search of food. I was impressed by the viewpoint character's voice and by the way Bulawayo put a great deal of moral power in her story without being heavyhanded about it. "Butterfly Dreams" by Beatrice Lamwaka also deserves mention for its effective and unusual use of the second-person perspective.
The twelve workshop stories were a bit of a mixed bag. None were "bad," but in general they felt like they could have benefited from a bit more editing/revision (which is probably to be expected of workshop stories). The better ones include Jide Adebayo-Begun's "Bridge," Dona Forbin's "No Blood, No Slaves," Beatrice Lamwaka's "Bottled Memory," Namwali Serpell's "The Man with the Hole in his Face," Alex Smith's "Wolf Blue," and Olufemi Terry's "Dark Triad."
Note: this book should be combined (or maybe merged) with http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10.... This record exists because I tried to add it as another edition of the above book (which has a different title, and at the time had a different cover image), but I must have done something wrong.
January 3, 2017
Most of the short stories were very dark and so would be inappropriate for secondary students and I just didn't find them enjoyable. There was one gem in the midst though, "In the Spirit of McPhineas Lata," very funny and very African.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2018
If I read this in the year it was released, I would probably have appreciated it a lot more. I'm no longer a fan of African stories that only talk about the "poor African child" narrative. It makes it difficult for other Africans to own their stories.
February 12, 2018
It has interesting stories with unexpected twists and moral lessons. I esp. Enjoyed Wolf Blue and Molly's Secret. Short stores are great for a quick enjoyable read.
December 16, 2018
Although I don't like anthology of shorts, I managed to get through this💃 . I couldn't feel some stories however much I willed myself to but the ones I loved, I really loved them!
January 21, 2019
Well-written stories drawn from the treasure trove of life on the African continent.
November 21, 2011
The name of the book is actually "To See the Mountain and Other Stories".
I was sent this book by the publisher to review on my blog (http://www.artandculturemaven.com/201...) - from that review:
The 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing went to NoViolet Bulawayo of Zimbabwe for her story Hitting Budapest, originally published in the Boston Review (Nov/Dec 2010 issue), and To See the Mountain includes the four runners up along with the stories from the participants of the annual Caine Prize Writers' Workshop, held this year in Cameroon. The participants also feature last years' winner, Olufemi Terry. As a whole, the stories run a gamut of styles and approaches from more traditional narratives to edgy urban and visceral.
The prize winner, Hitting Budapest, falls into the latter category, a raw tale of hungry children marauding through a rich white neighbourhood in search of guavas.
Budapest is big, big houses with the gravelled yards and tall fences and durawalls and flowers and green trees, heavy with fruit that's waiting for us since nobody around here seems to know what fruit is for.
Every detail here is telling - the soft, pretty feet of one of the neighbourhood's inhabitants, the way she unthinkingly throws away a half eaten pastry that the children eye, incredulous. In a way that hits you where you live, it's look at the vast gulf that separates two worlds that exist, in reality, side by side. NoViolet (pictured below) writes with a piercing clarity about the conditions that engender a stunningly casual cruelty on both sides.
Another highlight of the collection is the story Bridge by Nigerian writer Jide Adebayo-Begun, one of the workshop participants. It's lyrical and eloquent, and beautifully evocative of the chaos, the spirituality and tragedy of Lagos.
Thunder rumbled overhead like an empty stomach; a drizzle started. But it didn't bring coolness, just a liquid accompaniment to the sun, the kind of rain the folks on his street in Ijebu-Ode would describe as "the lion is giving birth".
Other selections include murder mysteries, stories about child soldiers and one, the title story, not surprisingly about participants in a writing workshop. All are steeped in the social and sensual realities of the African continent, bringing it to vivid life. In Shadreck Chikoti's Child of a Hyena, a Malawian and his Danish wife come home to his village to discover a devastating family secret, while Alex Smith's Wolf Blue uses a fragmented narrative to weave a clever cop story.
The book ends with Dark Triad by last year's winner, Olufemi Terry of Sierra Leone, an abstract kind of narrative about a dinner party of African ex-pat academics and artists in Europe that resonates with the confusion of displacement.
The Caine Prize anthology has come to be a showcase for younger African writers, many of whom have gone on to publish novels and other works in establishing their subsequent careers. It's a strong collection and I'll join the chorus of voices who see it as a precursor of even greater work to come from this next generation.
I was sent this book by the publisher to review on my blog (http://www.artandculturemaven.com/201...) - from that review:
The 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing went to NoViolet Bulawayo of Zimbabwe for her story Hitting Budapest, originally published in the Boston Review (Nov/Dec 2010 issue), and To See the Mountain includes the four runners up along with the stories from the participants of the annual Caine Prize Writers' Workshop, held this year in Cameroon. The participants also feature last years' winner, Olufemi Terry. As a whole, the stories run a gamut of styles and approaches from more traditional narratives to edgy urban and visceral.
The prize winner, Hitting Budapest, falls into the latter category, a raw tale of hungry children marauding through a rich white neighbourhood in search of guavas.
Budapest is big, big houses with the gravelled yards and tall fences and durawalls and flowers and green trees, heavy with fruit that's waiting for us since nobody around here seems to know what fruit is for.
Every detail here is telling - the soft, pretty feet of one of the neighbourhood's inhabitants, the way she unthinkingly throws away a half eaten pastry that the children eye, incredulous. In a way that hits you where you live, it's look at the vast gulf that separates two worlds that exist, in reality, side by side. NoViolet (pictured below) writes with a piercing clarity about the conditions that engender a stunningly casual cruelty on both sides.
Another highlight of the collection is the story Bridge by Nigerian writer Jide Adebayo-Begun, one of the workshop participants. It's lyrical and eloquent, and beautifully evocative of the chaos, the spirituality and tragedy of Lagos.
Thunder rumbled overhead like an empty stomach; a drizzle started. But it didn't bring coolness, just a liquid accompaniment to the sun, the kind of rain the folks on his street in Ijebu-Ode would describe as "the lion is giving birth".
Other selections include murder mysteries, stories about child soldiers and one, the title story, not surprisingly about participants in a writing workshop. All are steeped in the social and sensual realities of the African continent, bringing it to vivid life. In Shadreck Chikoti's Child of a Hyena, a Malawian and his Danish wife come home to his village to discover a devastating family secret, while Alex Smith's Wolf Blue uses a fragmented narrative to weave a clever cop story.
The book ends with Dark Triad by last year's winner, Olufemi Terry of Sierra Leone, an abstract kind of narrative about a dinner party of African ex-pat academics and artists in Europe that resonates with the confusion of displacement.
The Caine Prize anthology has come to be a showcase for younger African writers, many of whom have gone on to publish novels and other works in establishing their subsequent careers. It's a strong collection and I'll join the chorus of voices who see it as a precursor of even greater work to come from this next generation.
February 5, 2012
To See The Mountain, and other stories.
Unless I've misunderstood, this is a book of two parts: the first is the five shortlisted stories for the Caine Prize 2011, and the second are the resultant twelve stories from the 2011 Caine Writers' Workshop - separate from the prize, I'm assuming.
Frankly, I would have preferred more stories from the longlisted prize submissions. The quality of the shortlisted work seemed so much better than the workshop ones, as, I suppose, you might expect. Also it didn't help the collection to present all the shortlisted ones before the others as I felt my enthusiasm wane somewhat towards the end. What's needed is to give a rating for each part; I'd give the shortlist five stars, and the workshop a generous three.
Hitting Budapest, the winning story by NoViolet Bulawayo and the first in the book was, by a mile, my favourite for pace, style and composition, though I loved the almost Swiftian tale about a band of husbands seeking their wives' dead lover's secrets by process of trial and error in In The Spirit of McPhineas Lata (Lauri Kubuitsile). The Mistress's Dog (David Medalie) is also a fun and clever short.
Though there is the expected plots and vehicles you would expect from a literature prize specifically and explicitly about Africa, I can't say I had a sense of Africa, the place, or what it is to be African after reading these stories. A lot of them could have been set anywhere and one or two had plots uncomfortably close to obvious western counterparts.
All told, it's worth reading for the five shortlisted stories. Some of the others aren't so bad but, as I say, I wonder what happened to the ones that didn't quite make the prize shortlist.
Unless I've misunderstood, this is a book of two parts: the first is the five shortlisted stories for the Caine Prize 2011, and the second are the resultant twelve stories from the 2011 Caine Writers' Workshop - separate from the prize, I'm assuming.
Frankly, I would have preferred more stories from the longlisted prize submissions. The quality of the shortlisted work seemed so much better than the workshop ones, as, I suppose, you might expect. Also it didn't help the collection to present all the shortlisted ones before the others as I felt my enthusiasm wane somewhat towards the end. What's needed is to give a rating for each part; I'd give the shortlist five stars, and the workshop a generous three.
Hitting Budapest, the winning story by NoViolet Bulawayo and the first in the book was, by a mile, my favourite for pace, style and composition, though I loved the almost Swiftian tale about a band of husbands seeking their wives' dead lover's secrets by process of trial and error in In The Spirit of McPhineas Lata (Lauri Kubuitsile). The Mistress's Dog (David Medalie) is also a fun and clever short.
Though there is the expected plots and vehicles you would expect from a literature prize specifically and explicitly about Africa, I can't say I had a sense of Africa, the place, or what it is to be African after reading these stories. A lot of them could have been set anywhere and one or two had plots uncomfortably close to obvious western counterparts.
All told, it's worth reading for the five shortlisted stories. Some of the others aren't so bad but, as I say, I wonder what happened to the ones that didn't quite make the prize shortlist.
July 29, 2014
Finally. 3 years later, I read this collection. Loved most of the stories.
A couple of the Workshop stories left me puzzled, not because the quality was below par but because I may have been a little slow to grasp the plotline. Or I was looking for plotlines where none were meant to be.
Enjoyed the read in two sittings. That means something.
Looking forward to rereading the 2014 Collection once it is published in print!
A couple of the Workshop stories left me puzzled, not because the quality was below par but because I may have been a little slow to grasp the plotline. Or I was looking for plotlines where none were meant to be.
Enjoyed the read in two sittings. That means something.
Looking forward to rereading the 2014 Collection once it is published in print!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews