botswana

meetings with death

by botho lejowa

MEETINGS WITH DEATH tells the story of Eana, a young southern African girl who has a unique relationship with Death. Born into a family where supernatural talent runs through the generations, Eana has been sheltered from the truth of her power by her mother, who understands the dangers Eana will face from unfriendly forces, who wish to access her gifts and use them for dark magic. But as she grows, so does Eana’s connection with one of the oldest supernatural beings in the universe, a connection that threatens her entire family. MEETINGS WITH DEATH explores themes of spirituality, magic, taboo, rituals, and the supernatural entities that are woven through southern African culture and belief.

With its roots in African mythology, MEETINGS WITH DEATH has all the ingredients of a good fantasy fiction story—supernatural powers, a timeless battle between good and evil, a brave heroine who must accept the quest thrust upon her while learning how to harness her skills, trust and betrayal, and of course, an irresistible love interest. The story is set in southern Africa and the characters move across the borders from Botswana, to South Africa, and into the fantasy realm.

Botho, a young Motswana writer said about MEETINGS WITH DEATH, “I’m really proud of this body of work. I feel like I’ve finally found my voice as a writer and Meetings with Death is the perfect representation of that voice. The story is loosely based on Southern African belief systems made into fantasy, which is a tribute to my cultural roots. I hope that everyone reading it feels as magical as I did writing it.’’

Reading this book introduced me to a rich seam of fantasy fiction either written by African writers, or set in Africa. Books that build on ideas of ancestors, inherited magic, spirit animals, and nature as a force to be battled or harnessed. I haven’t read enough of this genre to provide any kind of critique here, but what is great to see, is that African writers are writing books in a variety of genres, not only books about stereotypically African issues. African writers are writing romance, and fantasy, and thrillers, and murder mysteries, in a variety of languages, and managing to merge the traditional with the modern in a creative and uniquely African way.