The Stone Virgins: A Novel
In 1980, after decades of guerilla war against colonial rule, Rhodesia earned its hard-fought-for independence from Britain. Less than two years thereafter when Mugabe rose to power in the new Zimbabwe, it signaled the begining of brutal civil unrest that would last nearly a half decade more.
With The Stone Virgins Yvonne Vera examines the dissident movement from the perspective of two sisters living in a small township outside of Bulawayo. In a portrait painted in successive impressions of life before and after the liberation, Vera explores the quest for dignity and a centered existence against a backdrop of unimaginable violence; the twin instincts of survival and love; the rival pulls of township and city life; and mankind’s capacity for terror, beauty, and sacrifice. One sister will find a reason for hope. One will not make it through alive.
Yvonne Vera was a Zimbabwean novelist and short story writer who lived periodically in Toronto.
Other publications from this author include:
- Butterfly Burning: A Novel (1998)
- Under the Tongue (1996)
- Nehanda (1993)
- Without a Name (1993)