Books: Overview
By examining ordinary lives in extraordinary circumstances, Graham Lang's novels explore shifting notions of postcolonial African identity and belonging, triggered especially by the deeply conflicted issue of land. Each novel reflects a different aspect of the maelstrom of change in Zimbabwe and South Africa during the past half century - love across the crumbling racial divide during the final bloody years of apartheid (Clouds like Black Dogs); a family's tragic confrontation with farm invaders in Zimbabwe (Place of Birth); a man's journey of atonement reveals the terrible price paid by innocents caught up in Zimbabwe's power struggles (Lettah's Gift). Each book is also united by the common theme of an emigre's return to a completely transformed 'home'.
In 2007, Place of Birth was longlisted for South Africa's premier literary prize, The Sunday Times Prize, and along with Lettah's Gift has been extensively discussed in academic books, dissertations and articles. Graham's novella, A Fulcrum of Infinities, was a winner of Griffith Review's 2016 novella competition and published in Griffith Review 54/Earthly Delights/The Novella Project IV.
In 2007, Place of Birth was longlisted for South Africa's premier literary prize, The Sunday Times Prize, and along with Lettah's Gift has been extensively discussed in academic books, dissertations and articles. Graham's novella, A Fulcrum of Infinities, was a winner of Griffith Review's 2016 novella competition and published in Griffith Review 54/Earthly Delights/The Novella Project IV.
