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The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo
A Novel
Contributors
By Peter Orner
Formats and Prices
- On Sale
- May 30, 2009
- Page Count
- 320 pages
- Publisher
- Little, Brown and Company
- ISBN-13
- 9780316075268
Price
$9.99Price
$12.99 CADFormat
Format:
- ebook $9.99 $12.99 CAD
- Trade Paperback $21.99 $28.99 CAD
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Set in Namibia just after independence in the early 1990s, Peter Orner’s first novel is a chronicle of the long days, short loves, and cold nights at Goas, an all-boys Catholic primary school so deep in the veld that “even the baboons feel sorry for us.”
Though physically isolated in semi-desert beneath a relentless sun, the people of Goas create an alternate, more fertile universe through the stories they tell each other. The book’s central character is Mavala Shikongo, a combat veteran who fought in Namibia’s long war for independence against South Africa.
She has recently returned to the school — with a child, but no husband. Mavala is modern, restless, and driven, in sharp contrast to conservative Goas. All the male teachers (including a bumbling but observant volunteer from Cincinnati) try not to fall in love with her. Everyone fails — immediately and miserably. This extraordinary first novel explores the history of a place through the stories of its people. But above all it’s about the fleetingness of love and the endurance of fellowship.
Though physically isolated in semi-desert beneath a relentless sun, the people of Goas create an alternate, more fertile universe through the stories they tell each other. The book’s central character is Mavala Shikongo, a combat veteran who fought in Namibia’s long war for independence against South Africa.
She has recently returned to the school — with a child, but no husband. Mavala is modern, restless, and driven, in sharp contrast to conservative Goas. All the male teachers (including a bumbling but observant volunteer from Cincinnati) try not to fall in love with her. Everyone fails — immediately and miserably. This extraordinary first novel explores the history of a place through the stories of its people. But above all it’s about the fleetingness of love and the endurance of fellowship.
