Somehow Tenderness Survives: Stories of Southern Africa

From Publishers Weekly
These 10 stories by South African writers of various races vividly describe the disturbing and far-reaching consequences of growing up under apartheid. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up This short collection is consistently fine in its effort to humanize a major issue of our time. Eight authors are represented by ten stories; the writers are black and white and range from the much-anthologized Doris Lessing, Nadine Gordimer, and Mark Mathabane to less-familiar names like Dan Jacobson and Ernest Havemann. Somehow Tenderness Survives is a worthy companion for other collections such as A Land Apart (Penguin, 1987), edited by Andre Brink, African Short Stories (Heinemann, 1985), edited by Chinua Achebe, and The Penguin Book of Southern African Stories (1986), edited by Stephen Gray. Although for the most part the stories in this latest collection are simple, even understated, in style, they are subtle. Reading this anthology may help high-school students to grasp the complex idea of how the most private corners of life are affected by systematic restriction and injustice. Tess McKellen, Packer Collegiate Institute, BrooklynCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


"Offers a shockingly realistic, yet somehow uplifting portrait."

Book Description
Apartheid. It's about suffering, about violence. Here are ten stories and autobiographical accounts, by southern African writers of various races. Some of the writers -- Nadine Gordimer, Mark Mathabane, Doris Lessing -- are well-known; all of them deserve to be. Their stories, individually and as a group, create a moving, sometimes shockingly vivid portrait of what it feels like to grow up in a land where racism is the law."A stunning group of [ten] stories and autobiographical accounts [by such authors as Doris Lessing and Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer] which vividly evoke what it means to come of age in South Africa under apartheid. Whether a portrayal of a major event in a character's life, or a simple recounting of the small details of everyday living, each story makes a powerful impact [and] will remain in the mind of the reader. This title should be in every YA collection." —V. 1988 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1989 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)

Card catalog description
A collection of ten short stories and autobiographical accounts by authors of various races expose the conditions of racism in South Africa.

About the Author
Hazel Rochman is an assistant editor at ALA Booklist, where she reviews books for children and young adults. Her previous book for HarperCollins, Somehow Tenderness Survives: Stories of Southern Africa, was listed as a 1988 Best Book for Young Adults (ALA) and as a 1989 Book for the Teen Age (NY Public Library). Darlene Z. Campbell is an English teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Both Ms. Campbell and Ms. Rochman live in Chicago.


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