The Marquis Of Mooikloof - And Other Stories (Paperback)

The Marquis of Mooikloof is a collection of short stories that rings true with consistency and subtlety. Describing the experiences of mixed new South Africa, they flit across moments or episodes of suburban angst and ennui - but in a manner completely without histrionics or wasted sentiment. The stories are mostly short - some appear as mere fragments, others more as narratives. In the title story a deposed Robert Mugabe and his wife move to Mooikloof and their recently divorced businessman neighbour plans an elaborate, but, as it turns out, ill-conceived meat braai to welcome them to the neighbourhood. In 'The magic of numbers' an elderly widow endlessly travels around townships and settlements, protected by her gardener, buying lotto tickets in the belief that the SA lotto is rigged to favour black people. The effectiveness of this collection lies in its attention to detail; its observation of the intimacies, the particularities, the painful truths, and the unsaid, of local life and existence.