Entertain Educate Empower

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Founder’s Story
  • About Us
Facebook Twitter Pinterest linkedin Telegram
The Afrikan Experience
Login / Register
0 Wishlist
0 items / $0.00
Menu
The Afrikan Experience
0 items / $0.00
  • Female Authors
  • 20th Century
  • Children
    • Children
    • Children’s Best Seller
    • French Children
  • Romance
  • Graphic
  • BestSellers
    • Great Modern African Reads
  • Fantasy
  • History
  • Age
    • 6-8
    • 8-12
    • 8 to teen
    • 9 to 12
    • 9 to teen
    • 12+
    • 12 to teen
    • teen
    • Young Adult
    • teen to Young Adult
  • Country
    • Algeria
    • Angola
    • Benin
    • Burkina Faso
    • Cameroon
    • Cape Verde
    • Chad
    • Congo-Kinshasa
    • Congo Brazzaville
    • Cote D’Ivoire
    • Egypt
    • Ethiopia
    • Eritrea
    • Ghana
    • Gabon
    • Guinea
    • Gambia
    • Kenya
    • Liberia
    • Malawi
    • Mauritania
    • Morocco
    • Mali
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Senegal
    • Seychelles
    • Sudan
    • Sierra Leone
    • Tanzania
    • Tunisia
    • Zimbabwe
    • Uganda
    • USA
    • UK
Click to enlarge
HomeAgeYoung Adult Butterfly Burning: A Novel
Previous product
Forest of A Thousand Daemons: A Hunter's Saga Amazon.com Price: $10.23 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Back to products
Next product
The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo Amazon.com Price: $14.95 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Butterfly Burning: A Novel

Amazon.com Price: $14.38 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Butterfly Burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of Zimbabwean writer Yvonne Vera to American readers for the first time. Set in Makokoba, a black township, in the late l940s, the novel is an intensely bittersweet love story. When Fumbatha, a construction worker, meets the much younger Phephelaphi, he”wants her like the land beneath his feet from which birth had severed him.” He in turn fills her “with hope larger than memory.” But Phephelaphi is not satisfied with their “one-room” love alone. The qualities that drew Fumbatha to her, her sense of independence and freedom, end up separating them. And the closely woven fabric of township life, where everyone knows everyone else, has a mesh too tight and too intricate to allow her to escape her circumstances on her own.Vera exploits language to peel away the skin of public and private lives. In Butterfly Burning she captures the ebullience and the bitterness of township life, as well as the strength and courage of her unforgettable heroine.

Compare
Add to wishlist
Categories: 20th Century, Young Adult, Zimbabwe
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest linkedin Telegram
  • Description
  • Additional information
  • Reviews (0)
  • Shipping & Delivery
Description


From Publishers Weekly

In the 1940s, the choices for women in British-ruled Zimbabwe were depressingly few, as Vera (thrice shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize-African region) illustrates in this slim scorcher. Beautiful, innocent Phephelaphi appears to middle-aged laborer Fumbatha as if in a dream, when she wades out of the river that winds through the black township of Makokoba. He immediately desires her “like the land beneath his feet from which birth had severed him.” Her carefree spirit soon tires of his devoted love, however, which she cannot return, although she continues to live with him without the benefit of marriage. Before her mother’s tragic murder, Phephelaphi was given a smattering of education, which she knows is the key to her freedom and to her self-realization. “She wanted more than obligation, not a fleeting excitement among male strangers with enticing tongues and a flirtatious oneness. She wanted a birth of her own.” After gaining a coveted position at a local nursing school, however, Phephelaphi is grounded by the unthinkable: she learns she is pregnant and no longer eligible for the training course. A searing chapter describes an abortion Phephelaphi performs on herself, which changes the course of her still uncertain destiny. After learning of Phephelaphi’s abortion, Fumbatha destroys what little is left of Phephelaphi’s self-worth by admitting to adultery and shedding a tragic light on her own parentage. “Falling to pieces, easy, easier than she imagined. Much much easier than holding a man in your arms,” she muses. Written in lyrical, metaphor-laden, heavily symbolic prose, this mesmerizing first U.S. appearance of Vera’s work is sure to garner attention. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Read more

From Library Journal

Zimbabwean Vera has received wide acclaim in her homeland but is relatively unknown in the United States, where her work has appeared in an anthology and through a small press. Her latest novel is a rare work of beauty, capturing the oft-tragic poetry of life in a black township of Rhodesia in the 1940s. Surrounded by poverty and oppression, where blacks are not even permitted to walk on the pavement, young Phephelaphi searches for her own freedom and fulfillment in spite of the love of Fumbatha, a construction worker more than twice her age. Vera’s phrasing and style make mundane tasks like cutting tall grass or waiting for a train sing with a music all their own and give a simple story of love, longing, and betrayal a lyric quality. Readers of Isabel Allende, A.S. Byatt, or Toni Morrison will all enjoy this introduction to fine African literature. Highly recommended.DEllen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Read more

See all Editorial Reviews
Butterfly Burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of Zimbabwean writer Yvonne Vera to American readers for the first time. Set in Makokoba, a black township, in the late l940s, the novel is an intensely bittersweet love story. When Fumbatha, a construction worker, meets the much younger Phephelaphi, he”wants her like the land beneath his feet from which birth had severed him.” He in turn fills her “with hope larger than memory.” But Phephelaphi is not satisfied with their “one-room” love alone. The qualities that drew Fumbatha to her, her sense of independence and freedom, end up separating them. And the closely woven fabric of township life, where everyone knows everyone else, has a mesh too tight and too intricate to allow her to escape her circumstances on her own.Vera exploits language to peel away the skin of public and private lives. In Butterfly Burning she captures the ebullience and the bitterness of township life, as well as the strength and courage of her unforgettable heroine.

Additional information
Paperback

160 pages

Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 12, 2000)

Language

English

ISBN-10

0374291861

ISBN-13

978-0374291860

Product Dimensions

5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches

Shipping Weight

5.6 ounces ()

Author

Yvonne Vera

Reviews (0)

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Butterfly Burning: A Novel” Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shipping & Delivery

Related products

Compare
Close

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (African Writers Series)

Amazon.com Price: $12.95 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

A railway freight clerk in Ghana attempts to hold out against the pressures that impel him toward corruption in both his family and his country.
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

Woman at Point Zero

Amazon.com Price: $0.95 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

"All the men I did get to know, every single man of them, has filled me with but one desire: to lift my hand and bring it smashing down on his face. But because I am a woman I have never had the courage to lift my hand. And because I am a prostitute, I hid my fear under layers of make-up." --Excerpt 
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

Nedjma, a Novel (Caribbean and African Literature)

Amazon.com Price: $32.50 (as of 10/08/2022 20:30 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Nedjma is a masterpiece of North African writing. Its intricate plot involves four men in love with the beautiful woman whose name serves as the title of the novel. Nedjma is the central figure of this disorienting novel, but more than the unfortunate wife of a man she does not love, more than the unwilling cause of rivalry among many suitors, Nedjma is the symbol of Algeria. Kateb has crafted a novel that is the saga of the founding ancestors of Algeria through the conquest of Numidia by the Romans, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, and French colonial conquest. Nedjma is symbolic of the rich and sometimes bloody past of Algeria, of its passions, of its tenderness; it is the epic story of a human quest for freedom and happiness.
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

Mufaros Beautiful Daughter

Amazon.ca Price: $19.27 (as of 10/08/2022 20:28 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

A Caldecott Honor and Reading Rainbow book, this memorable retelling of Cinderella is perfect for introducing children to the fairy tale as well as the history, culture, and geography of the African nation of Zimbabwe.This oversize edition (14 3/4 by 17 5/8 inches) makes it easy to share the book in a library or classroom.Inspired by a traditional African folktale, this is the story of Mufaro, who is proud of his two beautiful daughters. Nyasha is kind and considerate, but everyone—except Mufaro—knows that Manyara is selfish and bad-tempered.When the Great King decides to take a wife and invites the most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land to appear before him, Mufaro brings both of his daughters—but only one can be queen. Who will the king choose?Award-winning artist John Steptoe’s rich cultural imagery of Africa earned him the Coretta Scott King Award for Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. The book also went on to win the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. This stunning story is a timeless treasure that readers will enjoy for generations.Coretta Scott King Award for IllustrationCaledcott HonorReading Rainbow BookBoston Globe-Horn Book
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

So Long a Letter (African Writers Series)

Amazon.com Price: $24.75 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

An intense and poised novel in the form of a letter written by Ramatoulaye, who has recently been widowed.
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

Out of Darkness, Shining Light: A Novel

Amazon.com Price: $19.80 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

“Engrossing, beautiful, and deeply imaginative, Out of Darkness, Shining Light is a novel that lends voice to those who appeared only as footnotes in history, yet whose final, brave act of loyalty and respect changed the course of it. An incredible and important book by a masterful writer.” ​—Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing“This is how we carried out of Africa the poor broken body of Bwana Daudi, the Doctor, David Livingstone, so that he could be borne across the sea and buried in his own land.” So begins Petina Gappah's powerful novel of exploration and adventure in nineteenth-century Africa—the captivating story of the loyal men and women who carried explorer and missionary Dr. Livingstone's body, his papers and maps, fifteen hundred miles across the continent of Africa, so his remains could be returned home to England and his work preserved there. Narrated by Halima, the doctor's sharp-tongued cook, and Jacob Wainwright, a rigidly pious freed slave, this is a story that encompasses all of the hypocrisy of slavery and colonization—the hypocrisy at the core of the human heart—while celebrating resilience, loyalty, and love.
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street (Everyman’s Library)

Amazon.com Price: $29.49 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

 Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent epic trilogy of colonial Egypt appears here in one volume for the first time. The Nobel Prize—winning writer’s masterwork is the engrossing story of a Muslim family in Cairo during Britain’s occupation of Egypt in the early decades of the twentieth century. The novels of The Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. Palace Walk introduces us to his gentle, oppressed wife, Amina, his cloistered daughters, Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons–the tragic and idealistic Fahmy, the dissolute hedonist Yasin, and the soul-searching intellectual Kamal. Al-Sayyid Ahmad’s rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination in Palace of Desire, as the world around them opens to the currents of modernity and political and domestic turmoil brought by the 1920s. Sugar Street brings Mahfouz’s vivid tapestry of an evolving Egypt to a dramatic climax as the aging patriarch sees one grandson become a Communist, one a Muslim fundamentalist, and one the lover of a powerful politician. Throughout the trilogy, the family’s trials mirror those of their turbulent country during the years spanning the two World Wars, as change comes to a society that has resisted it for centuries. Filled with compelling drama, earthy humor, and remarkable insight, The Cairo Trilogy is the achievement of a master storyteller.
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View
Compare
Close

Abyssinian Chronicles: A Novel

Amazon.com Price: $17.00 (as of 10/08/2022 20:29 PST- Details)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Like Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Moses Isegawa's Abyssinian Chronicles tells a riveting story of twentieth-century Africa that is passionate in vision and breathtaking in scope. At the center of this unforgettable tale is Mugezi, a young man who manages to make it through the hellish reign of Idi Amin and experiences firsthand the most crushing aspects of Ugandan society: he withstands his distant father's oppression and his mother's cruelty in the name of Catholic zeal, endures the ravages of war, rape, poverty, and AIDS, and yet he is able to keep a hopeful and even occasionally amusing outlook on life. Mugezi's hard-won observations form a cri de coeur for a people shaped by untold losses.
Add to wishlist
Add to cart
Quick View

The Afrikan Experience is a platform developed to link Africa’s rich literary resources, cultural values, history and traditional values to global audiences.

About Us

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • linkedin
Newsletter





Contact Us

      info@theafrikanexperience.com

theafrikanexperience.com 2020 All Rights Reserved.
<payments

Shopping cart

close
  • Menu
  • Categories
  • Female Authors
  • 20th Century
  • Children
    • Children
    • Children’s Best Seller
    • French Children
  • Romance
  • Graphic
  • BestSellers
    • Great Modern African Reads
  • Fantasy
  • History
  • Age
    • 6-8
    • 8-12
    • 8 to teen
    • 9 to 12
    • 9 to teen
    • 12+
    • 12 to teen
    • teen
    • Young Adult
    • teen to Young Adult
  • Country
    • Algeria
    • Angola
    • Benin
    • Burkina Faso
    • Cameroon
    • Cape Verde
    • Chad
    • Congo-Kinshasa
    • Congo Brazzaville
    • Cote D’Ivoire
    • Egypt
    • Ethiopia
    • Eritrea
    • Ghana
    • Gabon
    • Guinea
    • Gambia
    • Kenya
    • Liberia
    • Malawi
    • Mauritania
    • Morocco
    • Mali
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Senegal
    • Seychelles
    • Sudan
    • Sierra Leone
    • Tanzania
    • Tunisia
    • Zimbabwe
    • Uganda
    • USA
    • UK
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Founder’s Story
  • About Us
  • Wishlist
  • Login / Register

Sign in

close

Lost your password?
No account yet? Create an Account
Scroll To Top