A young widow has worn the same mourning clothes for almost a year. But her act of remembrance has become her shield against the world, a world she isn’t sure she is willing to re-enter.
Meanwhile, a teenage girl shies away from the room where her once vibrant aunt lies dying. Torn between her duty to her family and her desire to find her own way in the world, she neglects her nursing duties and goes in search of freedom. But this freedom will come at a cost…
Elsewhere, a younger sister knows the price she’ll have to pay if she fails to conceal her sexual exploits. But as her brother flaunts his own infidelity, she starts to question the double standards that her family take for granted…
Gothataone Moeng’s unforgettable stories transport us to contemporary Botswana, where women are navigating the competing pulls of independence and family ties, love and opportunity. Suffused with beauty and humour, bringing to life the culture of contemporary Botswana, Call and Response explores the. clash between tradition and modernity, ancestral expectations and imported dreams.
About the Author :
Gothataone Moeng was born in Serowe, Botswana. She was a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction, a Summer Workshop scholar at Tin House, and an Emerging Writer Fellow at A Public Space. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in American Short Fiction, One Story, Virginia Quarterly Review, A Public Space, Ploughshares and Oxford American. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Mississippi. She is currently at work on a novel.
Review :
'A terrific collection, deeply rooted in place, sharply observed, comic, fierce, with a fine sense of the tragedy and absurdity of life. I hope it attracts the wide readership it deserves.'
'A good short story is a bit of alchemy, showing us so much in so few pages. Gothataone Moeng's debut collection does this over and over, each story surprising with its music, its warmth, its command of language.'
‘These mouth-wateringly sensory, satisfyingly complex stories, set in rural and urban Botswana…. Not the glance or sharp epiphany in these stories but the long kiss, with the heart as totem, questions in their wake.’
'These brilliant stories are set in modern Botswana, but delve into age-old longings. Moeng unfurls the luminous inner life of her characters (girls and women for the most part) as they go about their ordinary days, hearts and heads brimful of new wants and desires, but keenly aware of old traditions and family expectations.'
'Moving and impressive. Gothataone Moeng is a true writer and true observer of human universals.'
'It was a joy to discover the Tswana life in these pages and it is as familiar as kinship. Call and Response teems with life's twists, surprises and shocks and reminds us of our shared humanity. Moeng is generous in detail and humour. She is an exciting voice to join in African conversations.'
'A beautiful collection. What sharply observed vignettes – linked by striking figures, vivid details, a wry and ruminative mood, and deep insight into the vicissitudes of family life.'
'Lyrical and poignant... The author brings insightful prose and a distinctive voice to these layered stories, demonstrating deep knowledge of her characters and care for their worlds. Moeng is a new force in the literary landscape.'
'The debut of a major talent.'
'The publication of Call and Response is cause for celebration. Big-hearted and clear-eyed in their evocation of her beloved Botswana, these radiant stories contain the stuff of life: joys and sorrows, the wisdom of generations, the ceremonies of the everyday. A gorgeous, vital work of literature.'
'These stories—set mainly in the author’s hometown of Serowe and the Botswanan capital of Gaborone—illuminate the inner lives of girls and women of varying ages. Idiomatic phrases add texture to the prose, elegantly describing the characters' lives and their internal conflicts... A lovely debut brimming with deeply felt and well-rounded stories.'
'Moeng paints beautiful vignettes of modern Botswana, exposing readers to communities and traditions of her home country while exploring dichotomies and relational tensions familiar to all readers. Her beautiful, lyrical prose and memorable characters make this collection a delight to read.'
'This luminous collection of short stories plumbs the depths of women’s interior lives, deftly juxtaposing the quotidian with the universal… Moeng writes with lush, heartfelt intensity that illuminates contemporary Botswana for readers who value complex female characters navigating a rapidly changing world.'
'The stories in Moeng’s debut collection are grounded in her experience of life in Botswana. Focused on everyday life and families there, the book incorporates both unique and universal themes of relationships, infidelity, loss, sexuality, community, opportunity and love.'
'In Gothataone Moeng’s precise, delightfully detailed collection, Call and Response, we witness the challenges women of all ages face in a modernizing postcolonial Botswana where elements from the old life still remain… Moeng’s stories pulsate with life and accumulate to build a full, rich world.'
'These nine unhurried, fully realized tales may brim with their protagonists’ yearnings, familial rivalries, regrets and disappointments, but reading them is pure pleasure… Completely unforced and fascinating. Rich, thronging with life, Call and Response is a collection to be treasured.'
'Although Moeng is young, her prose is mature – spare and subtle, with both universal and local appeal. Beautifully crafted, they somehow echo US author Elizabeth Strout’s stories. They pull the reader, seemingly effortlessly, into the intimacy of a character, focusing on details and everyday life which open onto wider issues.'
