A review by samsam123
Rotten Row by Petina Gappah

4.0

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories set in contemporary Zimbabwe. This was the first work I have read by Petina Gappah, and after reading it I went and bought her other works, In particular, I liked the first half of the book dealing with capital crimes. I think my favourite story was the first one in the collection called "The Dropper". The second half of the collection held my attention less so than the first, and I would have been happy with just the first section. What is especially nice about this collection is that all the stories circulate around the issue of crime and morality, and the stories subtly build on each other ias characters from one story suddenly passing through another, which lends to a picture of the vibrancy of the street Rotten Row, and the pervasiveness of justice and injustice. Although at times bitterly sad, this work is also quite funny. If you like short stories that are dark yet funny, this is a great collection to pick up.