Nwelezelanga – The Star Child

Author: Unathi Magubeni

“I’m thirteen years old; however that’s a distortion on its own. I’m young yet old; I’ve experienced the cycle of birth and death many times than I care to count. I’ve donned and shredded many skin colours in my lifetime.” Thando Mgqolozana says the novel “will be a rare gift for the scholars, and we ordinary readers will not remember our lives before Magubeni happened”. Book to look out for in 2016 Bookslive.co.za

With a rich vocabulary that is poetic and uncluttered, this debut novel is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is both a well-written and philosophical book. e story begins with Nokwakha giving birth at her village home, and when it is discovered that the child is an albino the midwife convinces her that it is a curse and she should snuff the life out of it before it takes another breath. e dreadful deed is done by the river, but the ‘all-knowing one’ has other plans …

Rights: World rights available
Publisher: Jacana Media, Black Bird imprint,
South Africa
Publishing date: April 2016, 200 pages
Agent: Bieke van Aggelen