The collector of treasures, and other Botswana village tales Book

Alice Walker praises Bessie Head extravagantly in her novel The Temple of My Familiar. I enjoyed When Rain Clouds Gather & Maru but not quite to the extent that Alice's words had led me to hope. In this book I found the Bessie Alice read.

Many of these stories cover only a few pages. Their ground is small but intimately known. The author makes herself felt as romantic, sympathetic, soft-hearted, generous. There is a sense that she is an outsider, yet kindred.

Village life might be sleepy and uneventful, but here everything is constantly in motion, delicately balanced. Small forces, small acts, have important effects. The world is changing and no detail of transformation will be missed. The old men at the kgotla meeting give their wise views on eternal realities before being dumbfounded by the humility and selflessness of a young woman from a far off town. An abused woman finds love and friendship from unexpected sources everywhere she goes. Two strong characters tragically destroy each other because they meet in just the wrong context.

These stories are compact and perfect like treasures in a collector's box, to be taken out and touched for all to enjoy