A Life In Full And Other Stories

Sometime last year, a group of 12 writers from different African countries retreated to Kenya to write. Nothing out of the ordinary in that but the fact that the twin bogeymen of many African writers are time and distractions made the retreat significant.

The writers spent 10 days in a remote 100,000-acre ranch in Laikipia in the company of trees and wild animals. The only sign of modernity was the writers' laptops and mobile phones. The retreat was organised by The Caine Prize for African Writing, which seeks to promote the growth of African writers—someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or whose parents are African, and whose work has reflected African sensibilities.

The results of the 2010 Caine workshop can now be enjoyed in A Life in Full and Other Stories; a collection of 12 stories produced during the workshop as well as five of the stories shortlisted for the 2010 Caine prize. The collection is named after Nigerian novelist Jude Dibia's A Life In Full, a story about the tension between traditional parents and a son eager to pursue his dreams against his mother wish of getting grandchildren almost immediately.

Although a common theme, Dibia struggles to tell the story a refreshing way. Stanley Kenani is a Malawian writer who has previously been nominated for the Caine Prize. His story Happy Ending tells is more like a duel between gods; a traditional god and a modern Christian God. A woman discovers her husband can't father a child, so she enlists the services of the brother-in-law. The husband, a staunch Catholic, discovers the cheating ways of his wife and consults a witchdoctor. What follows, to a tragic end, is a witty story, vividly told.

Kenya was represented by three writers. Alnoor Amlani's Soul Safari is set at the coast and unfolds at a calm pace, which mirrors the rhythm of the waves. In the story, Adam tries to turn his close friendship with Zara into a romantic relationship. Clifford Oluoch penned Set Me Free, which delivers a good commentary on our political system and explores what happens to the family of a man indicted by the International Criminal Court for crime. Samuel Munene's contribution, The David Thuo Show, is a romantic comedy about a dysfunctional family united by a television and what happens to it when the television breaks down.

The book is published by Jacana Media and retails at 800 shillings. It is available at all leading bookshops.