When people’s hearts are extracted and those responsible are burned by vigilantes, Koketso tries to save his friend Steven against all odds in Ghost Strain N. A mother disappears and leaves a long letter with instructions for her fifteen-year-old child to follow into safety and to find family members who will be able to assist with her own challenging inheritance in Nthatisi. A young woman has to deal with the consequences of her actions when she discovers her family’s legacy and their connection to the sea in Manoka. Mashigo’s own stories shine the light as she lets her imagination explore these future territories.

In her author’s note, Mashigo dedicates the stories “for the weird, the wonderful … and us, who never see ourselves in the stars but die in seas searching for them.” Before we are allowed to jump into the extraordinary stories of this volume, Mashigo offers us a thought-provoking essay on Afrofuturism: “What I want for Africans living in Africa is to imagine a future in their storytelling that deals with issues that are unique to us”, she writes and encourages writers on the continent to engage in a “project that predicts (it is fiction after all) Africa’s future ‘post-colonialism’ this will be divergent for each country on the continent because colonialism (and apartheid) affected us in unique (but sometimes similar) ways.” Intruders is her first short story collection. Since then, she has adapted a movie for a young adult novel, Beyond the River, and co-written comic books for the Kwezi series. Mashigo tells her story with charming lucidity, disarmingĬharacterisation, subversive wisdom and subtle humour.’ – ZAKES MDAĬharacterisation, subversive wisdom and subtle humour.Mohale Mashigo is a well-known musician who debuted two years ago as an author with the best-selling and award-wining novel, The Yearning. ‘A bewitching addition to the current South African literary boom. The Yearning is a memorable exploration of the ripple effects of the past, of personal strength and courage, and of the shadowy intersections of traditional and modern worlds. It’s only a matter of time before it reaches out and grabs at her. Something dark has been lurking in the shadows of Marubini’s life from as far back as she can remember.

until her past starts spilling into her present. Marubini is a young woman who has an enviable life in Cape Town, working at a wine farm and spending idyllic days with her friends.

How long does it take for scars to heal? How long does it take for a scarred memory to fester and rise to the surface? For Marubini, the question is whether scars ever heal when you forget they are there to begin with. Yearning (noun): A feeling of intense longing for something.

Mohale mashigo the yearning