A Second Coming for Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo

May 14th, 2007 by Michelle

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, Peter Orner’s beautiful novel set at a boys’ school in Namibia during the early 1990s, will be released tomorrow. If you didn’t catch it the first time around, get it now.

Related: an interesting piece by Binyavanga Wainaina in the June issue of Harper’s, excerpted from the “Glory,” which appeared in the Spring issue of Bidoun. You can read Wainaina’s essay in its entirety on the Bidoun web site. A taste:

One day, when I was twelve years old, in a small public school in Nakuru, the whole student body was called out of class. Some very blond and serious people from Sweden had arrived. We were led to the round patch of grass in front of the school. Next to the flagpole were two giant drums of cow shit, metal pipes, and other unfamiliar accessories. We stood around, heard some burping sounds, and behold, there was light.

You might also be interested in visiting the website of Kwani?, the literary magazine edited by Wainaina.

Posted in Booknotes, Ephemera, Litbits: excerpts from good books

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.

About Sans Serif

Sans Serif began as a literary blog in September of 2005. Over time it has evolved into a more eclectic venture, with posts on books, politics, current events, literary happenings in the San Francisco Bay Area, publishing news, the writing life, and writing exercises. This blog is written by Michelle Richmond, author of four books of fiction: The Year of Fog, Dream of the Blue Room, The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, and No One You Know (forthcoming, 2008).

Visit me in the Red Room <