African Assignment Ms — Christina Engela

Theo Engela’s short stories were written during the 1950’s and 60’s, and set in the South African bushveld and society of the day. Today they provide a fresh glimpse at a world now long vanished. Using imagery and place-names unfamiliar to 21st century people, the author introduces the reader to a simpler, less complicated world filled with wonder and mystery, where crime could still be perfect and the world lived fearfully under the ever-present threat of the Cold War. Mesmerizing African folklore and almost-vanished cultures stand side by side. Rounded off in his own unique style, Theo Engela displays a biting sense of wit and irony in his work, which would probably not seem out of place in a Hitchcock serial or even in the Twilight Zone.