The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales (2nd Edition)
Collector of Treasuresexplores the lives of Botswana villagers, both before their colonization by the British and after their independence in 1966. Bessie Head tells tales of ancient leaders, of educated women trying to find their way between city and village life, of women who must suffer while men treat the independence of their country as an opportunity to throw away all restrictions, British or tribal. In these stories, it is the women who suffer most - who bear the children after the men have deserted them, who endure the village gossip, who raise the money for their children's school fees as their husbands support other women. But though they suffer, these are women of strength and inner beauty. Johannah, tall and striking, reminds the villagers "the children of a real woman do not get lean or die." Dikeledi, in jail for killing her husband, still "had always found gold amidst the ash, deep loves that had joined her heart to the hearts of others." While men are often the villains of these stories,Collector of Treasuresalso creates a new hero, the kind of man she calls "a poem of tenderness." Bessie Head's love for her characters is rich and glowing, as strong as her anger at those, British or African, who destroy the traditions of empathy, hard-work, and sharing that lie at the heart of this goodness. Her words flow through their "uncertain story of independence" like a great, golden river.-- For great reviews of books for girls, check outLet's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. --From500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.