A review by secretbookcase
The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales by Bessie Head

emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

 A wonderful collection of short stories reflecting on life in rural, post-independence Botswana. There is a quiet tone and calm rhythm to the stories, which belies the harrowing nature of many of the stories told. There is also a sense of fatality which permeates many of them. I found, for instance, that ‘The Wind and a Boy’ and ‘Looking for a Rain God’ were devastatingly sad in their portrayal of death, loss and struggles for survival. The common thread running through the collection is the position of women in society and the injustices and abuse they suffer. The collection shows all the big and small ways in which women are pushed to the sidelines, denigrated and reminded of their (inferior) position in society. But at the same time, the stories also portray the deep kindness that infuses some people – both women and men – and the place of female friendship. So, I felt there was an overall bittersweet atmosphere to the collection. But what I enjoyed most is how the stories are told: they feel like they were meant to be read out loud rather than read on paper. Or rather, they feel like old oral tales which have been put to paper.