Call and Response

Praise

Praise for Call and Response

“A good short story is a bit of alchemy, showing us so much in so few pages. Gothataone Moeng’s debut collection does this over and over, each story surprising with its music, its warmth, its command of language. Moeng writes of contemporary Africa, and if the settings and customs feel unfamiliar to Western readers, there’s something universal and true in these tales that grapple with family, faith, and how we make our way in the world.” 
—Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave The World Behind

“Call and Response is a beautiful collection. What sharply observed vignettes—linked by striking figures, vivid details, a wry and ruminative mood, and deep insight into the vicissitudes of family life. They reminded me sometimes of the work of Anton Chekhov, sometimes that of Bessie Head: calm, wise, yet searching, restless, like a still pond bestirred by undercurrents, or in Moeng’s lambent words, ‘like a torchlight helpless over the vast velvet of night.'” 
—Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift

“The debut of a major talent.”
—Souvankham Thammavongsa, author of How to Pronounce Knife

“The publication of Call and Response is cause for celebration. Big-hearted and clear-eyed in their evocation of her beloved Botswana, these radiant stories contain the stuff of life: joys and sorrows, the wisdom of generations, the ceremonies of the everyday. A gorgeous, vital work of literature.”
—Yoon Choi, author of Skinship

“It’s a terrific collection, deeply rooted in place, sharply observed, comic, fierce, with a fine sense of the tragedy and absurdity of life. I hope it attracts the wide readership it deserves.”
—Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane and Love Marriage

“In Gothataone Moeng’s precise, delightfully detailed collection, CALL AND RESPONSE: Stories, we witness the challenges women of all ages face in a modernizing postcolonial Botswana where elements from the old life still remain…Though the stories are unlinked, all of these women and their separate complexities feel intricately connected…Bolstered by her stirring prose, Moeng’s stories pulsate with life and accumulate to build a full, rich world.”
—The New York Times

“A lovely debut brimming with deeply felt and well-rounded stories.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Botswanan writer Moeng’s lyrical and poignant debut delves into complex family dynamics…  [Moeng] brings insightful prose and a distinctive voice to these layered stories, demonstrating deep knowledge of her characters and care for their worlds. Moeng is a new force in the literary landscape.” 
—Publishers Weekly

“Moeng paints beautiful vignettes of modern Botswana, exposing readers to communities and traditions of her home country while exploring dichotomies and relational tensions familiar to all readers. Her beautiful, lyrical prose and memorable characters make this collection a delight to read.”
—Booklist

“[Moeng] writes with lush, heartfelt intensity that illuminates contemporary Botswana for readers who value complex female characters navigating a rapidly changing world.”
—Library Journal

“These brilliant stories are set in modern Botswana, but delve into age-old longings.
Moeng unfurls the luminous inner life of her characters (girls and women for the most part) as they go about their ordinary days, hearts and heads brimful of new wants and desires, but keenly aware of old traditions and family expectations.”
—Daily Mail

“In Moeng’s nine stories, so exceptionally written that sentences can shine and awe, the push-pull of the modern and traditional is a recurring theme, and her characters, mostly younger women, are caught in that psychologically turbulent, unforgiving space, their private and public lives splintered and feelings left raw…masterful.”
—Star Tribune