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These short stories from the award-winning South African author “combine the coolly interrogative gaze of the outsider with an insider’s intimate warmth” (J. M. Coetzee).
Zoë Wicomb’s debut short story collection, You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, won critical acclaim across the globe as well as high praise from fellow authors including Toni Morrison, J. M. Coetzee, Bharati Mukherjee, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Now, after two novels, Wicomb returns to the genre that first brought her international acclaim.
Set mostly in the South African city of Cape Town, where Wicomb is from, and the Scottish city of Glasgow, where she now lives, this new collection of short stories straddles two worlds. With an array of expertly drawn characters, these twelve tales explore a range of human relationships: marriage, friendship, family, and the fraught yet often intimate relations between those who serve and those who are served.
Full of ironic twists, ambiguities, and moments of startling insight, The One That Got Away showcases this Windham Campbell Award–winning author at the height of her powers.
“An extraordinary writer . . . seductive, brilliant, and precious, her talent glitters.” —Toni Morrison
Zoë Wicomb’s debut short story collection, You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, won critical acclaim across the globe as well as high praise from fellow authors including Toni Morrison, J. M. Coetzee, Bharati Mukherjee, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Now, after two novels, Wicomb returns to the genre that first brought her international acclaim.
Set mostly in the South African city of Cape Town, where Wicomb is from, and the Scottish city of Glasgow, where she now lives, this new collection of short stories straddles two worlds. With an array of expertly drawn characters, these twelve tales explore a range of human relationships: marriage, friendship, family, and the fraught yet often intimate relations between those who serve and those who are served.
Full of ironic twists, ambiguities, and moments of startling insight, The One That Got Away showcases this Windham Campbell Award–winning author at the height of her powers.
“An extraordinary writer . . . seductive, brilliant, and precious, her talent glitters.” —Toni Morrison
Price: $24.95
Pages: 192
Publisher: The New Press
Imprint: The New Press
Publication Date:
21 April 2009
Trim Size: 8.50 X 5.80 in
ISBN: 9781595584571
Format: Hardcover
Zoë Wicomb (1948–2025) was a South African writer living in Glasgow, Scotland, where she was emeritus professor at the University of Strathclyde. She is the author of Still Life, October, The One That Got Away, and Playing in the Light, all published by The New Press, as well as You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town and David’s Story. She was an inaugural winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize in fiction.
Boy in a jute-sack hood: Page 9
Disgrace: Page 23
The one that got away: Page 37
Mrs Pringle's bed: Page 51
There's the bird that never flew: Page 65
Neighbours Page: Page 81
Friends and goffels: Page 101
Trompe l'oeil: Page 117
Nothing like the wind: Page 135
N2: Page 147
In the Botanic Gardens: Page 159
Another story: Page 173
Acknowledgements: Page 192
Disgrace: Page 23
The one that got away: Page 37
Mrs Pringle's bed: Page 51
There's the bird that never flew: Page 65
Neighbours Page: Page 81
Friends and goffels: Page 101
Trompe l'oeil: Page 117
Nothing like the wind: Page 135
N2: Page 147
In the Botanic Gardens: Page 159
Another story: Page 173
Acknowledgements: Page 192