The Quality of Mercy

By Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu,

Book cover of The Quality of Mercy

Book description

Winner, Outstanding Fiction Book Prize, Zimbabwe National Arts Merit Awards 

Shortlist, 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards

Best African Books of 2023, African Arguments

From 2022 Windham Campbell Prize winner Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, the breathtaking conclusion to her multiple award-winning City of Kings trilogy, including The Theory of Flight and The…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Quality of Mercy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I observe that most crime novels, even the best ones, are not literary masterpieces; it’s all about the plot. I found this book remarkable for numerous reasons, but particularly because it is so well written. It’s a murder mystery set in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, on the eve of that country’s first democratic election over the Christmas period in 1980.

The characters are about half black and white, half male, half female, and all extremely well-rounded. That in itself is a remarkable literary feat. It is a murder mystery and deep political intrigue following 25 years of bitter civil war.…

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