The path from Europe to Africa has been much traveled in literature but rarely in such an evocative, nuanced, and even playful way as in N.S. K÷enings's THEFT. Here are five seductive tales that move with grace and subtlety between the two continents and reveal with insight and wit that what seem to be very separate worlds are not so far apart after all. In Pearls to Swine, a lonely childless socialite invites her American goddaughter to spend the summer in her mansion. In Wondrous Strange, a spirit medium is haunted by the ghost of an ancient African djinn. In Setting Up Shop, a young Zanzibari woman dreams of traveling to the U.S., even as a local entrepeneur courts her relentlessly, even promising to leave his other wives for her. More praise for The Blue Taxi: The world K÷enings has created in her accomplished debut is tragic and exhilarating, as is her portrayal of weary, left-behind colonialists, poverty-stricken natives and the uneasy manner in which each regards the other.--Publishers Weekly K÷enings skillfully weaves together the stories of individuals from disparate cultures converging in a city that is entering a new era of political independence.--The New Yorker
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Personal strength and resiliency are recurrent themes in Köenings's surprising and inventive collection (after the novel The Blue Taxi) of five longish stories. They focus largely on relationships and loss, beginning with Pearls to Swine, about a narrow-minded wealthy woman whose vision of herself as a magnanimous host is threatened when the invitation she extends to two young women has unforeseen consequences. Expectations are equally disrupted in the title story, which tracks the parallel mishaps that befall a naïve female tourist in Africa and a bus ticket boy, Ezra. Assistance comes from the beyond in Wondrous Strange, when at a séance a woman receives instructions from an African spirit regarding a ritual she might perform to revive her ailing husband, and by extension, her own sense of competency. Köenings's writing is dense but focused, and she often suggests the endings of her stories early on, allowing the reader to focus on the characters' reactions, thoughts and emotions. The collection's richness and complexity prove Köenings to be a skillful and imaginative storyteller. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
'The world Koenings has created is tragic and exhilarating' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
(RAW Rating 4.5),
By The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Theft: Stories (Paperback)
THEFT houses an eclectic group of short stories with far ranging subjects that connect on familiar themes.
'Pearls to Swine' gives us a slightly aristocratic woman who thinks herself magnanimous. She invites two troubled teens into her home to help them find themselves. The girls are opposite in background and spirit, but somehow they connect. Celeste could not have imagined her invitation would bring such consequences, she is completely unsettled by what she discovers. 'Wondrous Strange' introduces readers to an odd, talented group of 'mediums' who meet on Thursday nights and share their gifts through physical channeling and séances. The leader has the power to converse with ghosts, but is threatened when another member is possessed by an African spirit. She accuses the other member of faking. After much debate, the group learns the power of friendship. From this I realized how wonderful and how strange the human nature is. 'Theft,' the title story, tracks similar mishaps that overtake a naïve female tourist, in Africa, and a bus ticket boy. As she is displaying her independence, she is caught in a bus robbery; the passenger's luggage is stolen. Disappointment befalls both of them, as the ticket boy attempts to assist the traveler. Both realize more than material belongings were stolen; somehow their innocent view of mankind was stolen as well. 'Sisters for Shama' takes readers into the mind of a male invalid accused of impropriety with a young boy. He was banished to the basement of the house and spends his days confined to bed. Meal time is the only time he has companionship. He becomes friends with the young lady attending to him, in his eyes anyway. He can finally share his stories about jealousy, abandonment and his own dysfunctional relationships. 'Setting Up Shop' is a tale of "be careful what you ask for". Masound has three wives and wants Zulfa for a fourth, for the first time he is in love. Zulfa does not want to get married; she wants to travel abroad and see the world, especially America. Hoping to thwart his advances, she gives him an ultimatum about his wives, but the plan backfires; he agrees to her terms. THEFT combines five surprisingly funny and memorable stories, each unusual in its own right. Köenings's writing, often described as dense but focused, displays rich insight, wit, and a complexity that enhance her imaginative storytelling. The tales move with grace and subtlety between the two continents and reveal that the separate worlds are not so far apart after all. One plus for me is that Köenings leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions; the stories do not have a definitive ending. Her writing is evocative; I had the feeling of visiting those exotic locations. Reviewed by aNN of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
5.0 out of 5 stars
a wonderful collection that takes you to Africa and Europe,
This review is from: Theft: Stories (Paperback)
I have just finished reading this great book, which I just happened to pick up in a friend's house. The five stories in this collection are each unusual and really drew me into their worlds. Koenings effortlessly takes you the East African coast, to Egypt and to Belgium and England. My favorite story was about a genie who lived in the Indian Ocean who "possessed" a English man, much to everyone's surprise. The other stories feature a romance between two young lesbians in Belgium, an East African girl who resists becoming the fourth wife of an older man, and a trasvestite story-teller in an Indian Ocean town who falls in love with his upstairs neighbor. The writing is absolutely beautiful, evocatively written, so that I really experienced the smells and sounds and feeling of being in each of these exotic locations. I haven't yet read the author's novel, "The Blue Taxi" but my friend tells me that it is also really good.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
a book of stories - voila !,
This review is from: Theft: Stories (Paperback)
I read the first story Pearls to Swine and Once I was done. I knew I couldn't read anymore of Ms. Koenings' stories.
Simply put, I wasn't moved by her writing skills. The first story tells a taqle about an old french couple in France who decide to invite some guests to liven up their place. Tow young ladies come over and not much else happens. The end was anti climatic and I didn't see these characters as real. cheers
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