Book: Safe House: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction
Editor: Ellah Wakatama Allfrey
Publisher: Cassava Republic Press
Price: £12.99 (paperback)
Review by Angela Howell
Safe House is a must read of creative non-fiction. This anthology of 14 real stories by talented authors from the African continent, including Mark Gevisser (Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred) and Elnathan John (Flying) will take you on a journey of real enlightenment.
Reflecting a continent rich in history, readers are fed a varied menu of topics and genres, ranging from memoir and reportage to travel, from different countries, all told from the inside. Edited by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, in her introduction she reveals how she wanted to encourage “a personal voice that allowed the writer to become a part of the story”, a goal which has been realised.
Divided into three parts, with each section containing a theme that links each story, no two stories are the same. In Walking Girlie in Nairobi by Mark Gevisser (one of my favourites in the collection), he relays the story of the LGBTI community having to leave Uganda to live in Kenya. We see how they seek asylum for protection against homophobia in daily life and from the government. It is thought-provoking and emotional, taking you on a journey of love, shame and fear with men trying to live a normal life, undercover and away from prying eyes.
Another standout is Border Crossings (Sarita Ranchod). This essay allows the reader to grow up with Ranchod in apartheid-ridden South Africa. Detailing her choices, which would in turn shape her character, we see her refusing to adhere to the rules of family, education, colour, or love. She stands her ground in the face of opposition, transforming from a young naïve girl into an astute woman.
Other stories explored include Chinese migration in Ghana, the Liberian Ebola crisis through the eyes of a scientist, a student activist from Kenyan exiled in Kampala, a community at risk in Nigeria and murder in a seaside town. Every story houses different emotional twists and turns, always bubbling close to the surface and raising questions: Who will befriend whom? Who will be rejected? And who will find love?
Within this collection, we are given a different look at heart of Africa, a far cry from the normal media coverage we are fed. We are left to relate to and relive family lives with all their hurt, sadness, pain and love with a tinge of the mystical, all told with authenticity.
The stories tell us loudly that Africa and her people are strong, even when they feel broken, rejected and frail; that Africa will survive in the face of the adversity and that old beliefs live side by side with the new.
Is there a downside to this anthology? With each story being an account of real lives, you cannot help but want to know more. You are left wondering when and if any of these extremely talented authors will return and grace us with an update in the future. I really hope so.