To Stir the Heart: Four African Stories by Bessie Head and Ngugi wa Thiong'o

This is an interesting compilation of two short stories from Bessie Head and two short stories from Ngugi wa Thiong'o. They are two sub-Saharan African writers--one female, one male--who produced great works mostly from the 60s on.

I find this combination of stories interesting because the authors were from two different countries and had different political beliefs and very different experiences with the world. But the stories in this book have to do with gender roles in love and relationships, so they carry similar themes across their differences.

Both expose certain "truths," or social norms through the relationships of their characters. It's interesting because there are similarities across countries, tribes, and time. Hell, there are even similarities across continents. The stalwart male is an ideal that is upheld in many cultures around the world, and it shines through in several of these stories. Too, the passive role of women, which is something I think most of us have come to expect from most cultural commentaries.

There really weren't too many surprises here, but the stories were well-crafted, interesting to read, and evocative of the internal struggle between old ways (traditionalism, tribalism) and new (colonialism, westernization) in Africa. Two thumbs up.

~7/10~