This book investigates themes of exile and oppression in Southern Africa across Bessie Head’s novels and short fiction.
An exile herself, arriving in Botswana as a South African refugee, Bessie Head’s fiction serves as an important example of African exile literature. This book argues that Head’s characters are driven to exile as a result of their socio- political ambivalence while still in South Africa, and that this sense of discomfort follows them to their new lives. Investigating themes of trauma and identity politics across colonial and post- colonial contexts, this book also addresses the important theme of black- on- black prejudice and hostility which is often overlooked in studies of Head’s work.
Covering Head’s shorter fiction as well as her major novels
When Rain Clouds Gather
(1969),
Maru
(1971),
A Question of Power
(1973),
Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind
(1981), and
A Bewitched Crossroads: An African Saga
(1984), this book will be of interest to researchers of African literature and postcolonial history.