| ISBN | 9789988550295 |
| Pages | 120 |
| Dimensions | 203 x 127 mm |
| Published | 2002 |
| Publisher | Sub-Saharan Publishers, Ghana |
| Format | Paperback |
The Baobabs of Tete and Other Stories
by Kari Dako
'God punished the baobab for her gigantic and bloated arrogance and He tossed her in the air as some insignificant weed and he hurled her back onto the ground first, and that is why the baobab gropes with its roots towards Heaven and buries her head, arms and hands in the deep earth in shame...it is therefore fitting that she should abound in the Land of Shame and Suffering...'
The title story is a symbolic reflection upon the war in Mozambique, its people abandoned to drought and floods. Other stories in this collection take us to Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. 'Purple Heart' tells the story of Selina Clarke, a thirteen year-old orphan and paraplegic, with both legs amputated above the knee; a deformed and disabled victim of one of Africa's civil wars.
Reviews
'The author, who is known to readers of African Literature Today as a critic and as the editor of Ernest Obeng's Eighteenpence, emerges from this volume as versatile and assured creative writer. In fifteen pieces of prose she explores a variety of forms, often combining anger, amusement and irritation with compassion...In Dako's delight in rendering different voices in print, and in the confident centrality of women's experience to her writing, there is much that recalls Ama Ata Aidoo's short stories.'
'This collection of stories have Africa for a background; characters who are, or deal with matters Africa. What is important though is that they are excellent tales.'