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drdreuh's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
The geographic scope of "Call and Response" is about the distance from Serowe to Gaborone, Botswana. And after reading this compilation of short stories, I now feel like I know every personality type there is to know there. I enjoyed "Call and Response" for the same reason I enjoy short stories generally. I like dropping into someone's life drama long enough to figure it out and then out again before it gets boring. And there were some stories and characters that I really loved. But, overall, "Call and Response" felt a bit undercooked. Less like an intentioned compilation and more like Moeng was experimenting with writing the same themes from multiple characters point of view or within different social arrangements. Some of these themes are really interesting, though. The men, for example, are virtually all absent. Their presence looms larger in characters' minds than they do in the story. And there's a lot on the juxtaposition (transition?) between traditional (African) values and modernity that I find really interesting, alongside more typical themes around immigration. Some stories ended too fast; others dragged on too long. All of this is well within the realm of what I think is fun about a compilation of short stories. I'll be curious to see what Moeng can do with a novel.
Lines I Loved:
We have all been there. Being good for our fathers and uncles and brothers, even our cousins and boyfriends. They have no idea who we are.
... a man is an axe to be lent around.
His cardinal sin was what she called his SRB - strong rural background - which manifested itself in his coarse accent and his continuing distaste for any food unlike what he had grown up eating.
Nametso drives around the city, ghosts of her past emergent everywhere.
My jaw got tired of speaking all that English.
Tumo's beauty was cultivated now for a particular trajectory she was planning for her life.
I met a man my sister introduced as her husband.
One who had decentered men from her life once she had exhausted their uses.
She had felt the beating of her foolish, hopeful heart, still refusing to cede its monthly hope to the inevitability of her age.
She had needed her family to think, despite everything, that she had at least done well for herself.
You can learn your way around a forest, but never around a person.
She was from the generation whose love was shrouded in fear and bewilderment at the whims of a God who took just as easily as He gave.
With the work of her own two hands, a woman could slink past some certain calamities of this world and fashion her own kind of life.
It felt simultaneously too trivial and too grand to tackle.
It wasnt the place they missed, nor the people. Their nostalgia was solely for the status of their lives there.
Lines I Loved:
We have all been there. Being good for our fathers and uncles and brothers, even our cousins and boyfriends. They have no idea who we are.
... a man is an axe to be lent around.
His cardinal sin was what she called his SRB - strong rural background - which manifested itself in his coarse accent and his continuing distaste for any food unlike what he had grown up eating.
Nametso drives around the city, ghosts of her past emergent everywhere.
My jaw got tired of speaking all that English.
Tumo's beauty was cultivated now for a particular trajectory she was planning for her life.
I met a man my sister introduced as her husband.
One who had decentered men from her life once she had exhausted their uses.
She had felt the beating of her foolish, hopeful heart, still refusing to cede its monthly hope to the inevitability of her age.
She had needed her family to think, despite everything, that she had at least done well for herself.
You can learn your way around a forest, but never around a person.
She was from the generation whose love was shrouded in fear and bewilderment at the whims of a God who took just as easily as He gave.
With the work of her own two hands, a woman could slink past some certain calamities of this world and fashion her own kind of life.
It felt simultaneously too trivial and too grand to tackle.
It wasnt the place they missed, nor the people. Their nostalgia was solely for the status of their lives there.
ericrobien's review against another edition
3.0
I liked some of the stories, the first three, but the rest I felt okay about.
amyjo25's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
coco1922's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Review:
In Call and Response, author Gothataone Moeng delivers a collection of short stories about rural and city life in modern-day Botswana. Each of her characters faces loneliness, alienation, and melancholy as they yearn for personal fulfillment amidst a complex network of familial, cultural, financial, and social obligations. Her stories are fastidious, reflective, and concerned with the minutiae of everyday life—as such, this book is slow-paced to the occasional point of dullness. However, Moeng rewards readers for their patience with quiet revelations about life in a country that is simultaneously leaping toward modernity and clinging to cultural legacies borne from native heritage, colonialism, and the specters of not-so-distant national crises.
The Run-Down:
You will probably like Call and Response if . . .
· You like slow-paced, reflective slice-of-life stories
· You want to immerse yourself in the lives of modern-day Batswana
· You like stories that reflect on themes of family, patriarchy, modern social and technological change, and national identity
You might not like Call and Response if . . .
· You want to read a book that pays more attention to the joys of life in Botswana than its sorrows
· You want to a collection of read fast-paced, gripping stories
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death of parent, Classism, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Abortion, Blood, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, and Dementia
Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Vomit, Miscarriage, Animal death, Child death, Car accident, Excrement, and Fatphobia
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Call and Response is a collection of short stories set in contemporary Botswana, mostly in the capital city of Gabarone or the town of Serowe. Many, but not all, follow young women trying to achieve their goals in a modern world while still having to contend with traditional expectations. I really liked the way the author allowed her characters to reveal themselves through their words and actions. I have a strong preference for being shown rather than told. I also enjoyed the glimpses into the Botswanan way of life - things like the importance of cattle rearing and customs related to marriage and death. The double standard in accepted behaviours for young men and young women was also highlighted in one story - frustrating to read about but an important reminder that progress towards gender equality varies between nations and communities. The prose is straightforward yet full of details, the various plots are centred on the quotidian yet the stories never failed to hold my attention. A solid debut I’d recommend for anyone interested in global literature and in women’s issues.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
I still go into the city sometimes. When it cannot be avoided, I, as we used to say, very-nice myself. I powder my face, paint my lips red, and subdue my body into skintight jeans. I brace myself for the city center and its deceptions.
The stories that make up this collection are all set in Botswana, most in the town of Serowe, but also in the Capitol city of Gabarone. Most are coming-of-age stories, mostly following young women as they try to find their way in a world sandwiched between traditional expectations and modern aspirations. The author grew up in Serowe, where she currently lives, but she attended university in the US and this collection is written with its western audience in mind.
Every winter, Mrs. Botho Kennekae's husband took time off from his driving job in the city and spent three weeks at the cattle-post, where he did whatever men did there--presumably off the softness they withheld from everyone to their cattle, for the cattle were the great loves of their lives, so beloved the men called them wet-nosed gods, so beloved the men agreed: without cattle, a man pined and lost his sleep; still, having cattle, a man fretted and lost his sleep.
Moeng writes well, but where she shines is in her character studies. From an earnest young man trying to avoid any sinful activity, to a lonely married woman who may not have told her family the truth about her life in Gabarone, all of Moeng's characters are wonderfully complex and full of life. I really enjoyed this peek into a place I know very little about.
The stories that make up this collection are all set in Botswana, most in the town of Serowe, but also in the Capitol city of Gabarone. Most are coming-of-age stories, mostly following young women as they try to find their way in a world sandwiched between traditional expectations and modern aspirations. The author grew up in Serowe, where she currently lives, but she attended university in the US and this collection is written with its western audience in mind.
Every winter, Mrs. Botho Kennekae's husband took time off from his driving job in the city and spent three weeks at the cattle-post, where he did whatever men did there--presumably off the softness they withheld from everyone to their cattle, for the cattle were the great loves of their lives, so beloved the men called them wet-nosed gods, so beloved the men agreed: without cattle, a man pined and lost his sleep; still, having cattle, a man fretted and lost his sleep.
Moeng writes well, but where she shines is in her character studies. From an earnest young man trying to avoid any sinful activity, to a lonely married woman who may not have told her family the truth about her life in Gabarone, all of Moeng's characters are wonderfully complex and full of life. I really enjoyed this peek into a place I know very little about.
uzoreads's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bookofcinz's review against another edition
2.0
Bustling with life, energy, we meet fresh characters from contemporary Botswana teaching us about love, loss, family, rejection and redemption.
Gothataone Moeng’s Call and Response is a debut collection of nine short stories that explores life in contemporary Botswana. We meet very ordinary Botswanans who are navigating loss, love, family life, society’s expectation and what it means to be a part of a community.
Moeng writing is inviting, vivid and very engaging. There is a bit of mystery that she starts with for each story that you can’t help but want to solve and be a part of. Majority of the protagonist are women reinventing themselves or trying to not break under tradition and society’s expectation.
Of the nine stories there are a few that stood out to me, A GOOD GIRL who tries to be the good girl for her family, hides all the things she thinks is bad while her brother is doing the opposite. In Botalaote we meet a very young widow who is breaking under the pressure of observing tradition to make sure her husband death is honoured. SMALL WONDERS we find out the meaning of community and desires.
Honestly, this is what I would call a very solid collection of short stories. The author flexes her writing muscles but not too much, she tries, but not too hard and we are transported to Gaborone in Botswana where we meet a colorful, unforgettable cast. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.
Gothataone Moeng’s Call and Response is a debut collection of nine short stories that explores life in contemporary Botswana. We meet very ordinary Botswanans who are navigating loss, love, family life, society’s expectation and what it means to be a part of a community.
Moeng writing is inviting, vivid and very engaging. There is a bit of mystery that she starts with for each story that you can’t help but want to solve and be a part of. Majority of the protagonist are women reinventing themselves or trying to not break under tradition and society’s expectation.
Of the nine stories there are a few that stood out to me, A GOOD GIRL who tries to be the good girl for her family, hides all the things she thinks is bad while her brother is doing the opposite. In Botalaote we meet a very young widow who is breaking under the pressure of observing tradition to make sure her husband death is honoured. SMALL WONDERS we find out the meaning of community and desires.
Honestly, this is what I would call a very solid collection of short stories. The author flexes her writing muscles but not too much, she tries, but not too hard and we are transported to Gaborone in Botswana where we meet a colorful, unforgettable cast. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.