African Stories by Doris Lessing

 This book of short stories set in Africa where Lessing grew up does a beautiful job of conveying life in the bush, often from a child's point of view. She offers a look at white settlers and farmers and their interactions with Black natives during the 1930s that often strains boundaries based on today's sensibilities and traces her dawning realization of natives' place in the landscape. From draining a well contaminated by dead animals and a suicide to learning how to deal with a Black chieftan, it's a visceral taste of sun-filled days on the veldt. You can see the dry grasses and smell the river.

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