A good short story is often defined by a great hook, characters that come alive in the imagination and a captivating narrative voice. In the collection of short stories that make up Jeremiah's Wives, Ray Mawerera manages to duplicate this ten times, with each story as intriguing as the one before.
A master of suspense, Mawerera's writing is grounded in realism, and coupled with an engaging writing style, it inadvertently draws you in and you almost feel as if you're reading a tale that should be passed on beyond the writer and you.
A polygamous dilemma, a grief filled with unanswered questions, a revenge plot that gets diverted and family trauma that strikes deep. In some moments the stories come full circle but in others, you are left to find your own closure. To imagine healing, a happily ever after or the culmination of everything in complete disaster.
While Jeremiah's Wives is a collection of different tales, it has the feeling of the same fictional world being seen from different angles. This might be how with each story, an eagerness is triggered within you to find out what happens next. The themes of love, friendship, grief, child abuse and even classism are explored with a poignant air that shows great care in the writing.
In the book's foreword there is a quote from the philosopher Phaedrus that reads, "Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of few perceives what has been hidden in the recesses of the mind."
This greatly sums the collection up. A mosaic of storytelling that is as vibrant as the artwork that covers it. One book you can certainly judge by the cover.
Title: Jeremiah's Wives
Authors: Ray Mawerera
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Carnelian Heart Publishing
Jeremiah's Wives is available across all major book selling platforms and locally from Book Fantastics.
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