‘Calls’ by Masande Ntshanga

The struggle against apartheid was one of the great moral campaigns of the 20^th Century, giving rise to a celebrated body of literature and two Nobel Laureates (Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee). Post-apartheid writers subsequently explored the complex aftermath of minority rule, including the HIV/AIDS crisis.

But where are we now? Post-post-apartheid? The current crop of writers is young, diverse, with a wide range of urgent preoccupations, and a desire to break free of the tropes of the past.

One of the most notable is Masande Ntshanga, who published his first short story at 18, and has since produced two genre-bending novels (The Reactive and Triangulum). ‘Calls’ is a lively blending of speculative fiction and African traditions.

First published in New York-based n+1 Magazine in Spring 2016, online here