THE WHALE CALLER

298pp, paperback, Cape Town, 2005

“An exuberant and quirky tale of the New South Africa ... The Whale Caller, his fifth and perhaps most imaginatively freewheeling novel, also captures malaise in the 'new South Africa' ... A wise and seductive tale of love and jealousy, The Whale Caller also hints at the precarious euphoria of a society in transition.” Maya Jaggi, Guardian

“The Whale Caller is a novel of love and art. It unfolds in the simple, elliptical outlines of a ballad ... But behind this simplicity lies a carefully woven text of symbolism. ... In novel after novel, Zakes Mda seems to have cultivated a mode of writing which the realistic and the magical co-exist with unruffled ease ... This novel is - in my opinion - his finest artistic achievement yet.” Harry Garuba, Independent

Zakes Mda's works include the novels Black Diamond, Ways of Dying (M-Net Book Prize), Heart of Redness (Commonwealth Writers Prize) and Little Suns (Barry Ronge Fiction Prize), the plays, We Shall Sing for the Fatherland and The Hill (Amstel Playwright of the Year Award), and a memoir, Sometimes There is a Void.