Ride the Tortoise by Liesl Jobson

In this long-awaited collection, Liesl Jobson, internationally acclaimed for her mastery of the very short “flash fiction” form, turns to the longer form of the short story. In places, the author experiments with the narrative structure by crafting together snapshots in a collage form. Elsewhere, she retains the more conventional story line. She writes with panache and hypnotic honesty about topics as diverse as anorexia, cleaning the oven, the terror of losing a child, exile, infidelity and desire. Few writers are as assured in traversing the terrain of loss and fear. Yet there is quirky humour and sly surprise in these stories told from the perspectives of the policewoman, art teacher, athlete, bassoonist, lover and mother. Treat yourself: these dark chocolate and bitter orange stories are erotic, edgy and wise.

Date of Publication: February 2013
ISBN: 9781431405664
Website: liesljobson.bookslive.co.za
Publisher: Jacana Media
Reviews: “Liesl Jobson has for long been writing sublime short short fiction. Ride the Tortoise‘s crisp empathetic prose is fiction that takes us fearlessly between the electric pulses of South Africa’s painful new birth – childbirth, introspection, rape, breastfeeding, happiness, and a sweet always-yearning carries us through a powerful collection where we see where love is being manufactured.” – Binyavanga Wainaina