Popular Lesotho Books

15+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Lesotho

4.8/5

Chaka by Thomas Mofolo

Tells the classic story of the Zulu hero Chaka.

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4.3/5

Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman by Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya , K. Limakatso Kendall

A compelling and unique autobiography by an African woman with little formal education, less privilege, and almost no experience of books or writing. Mpho's voice is a voice almost never heard in literature or history, a voice from within the struggle of "ordinary" African women to negotiate a world which incorporates ancient pastoral ways and the congestion, brutality, an A compelling and unique autobiography by an African woman with little formal education, less privilege, and almost no experience of books or writing. Mpho's voice is a voice almost never heard in literature or history, a voice from within the struggle of "ordinary" African women to negotiate a world which incorporates ancient pastoral ways and the congestion, brutality, and racist violence of city life. It is also the voice of a born storyteller who has a subject worthy of her gifts - a story for all the world to hear.

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4.2/5

Basali! Stories by and about Women in Lesotho by K. Limakatso Kendall (Editor)

Basali means 'women ' and is one of the most common exclamations in the Sesotho language. These stories in 'Sesotho-ised' English reveal a way of life and a way of perceiving that is unique in African literature. The stores offer glimpses of traditional healers, circumcision schools, witches, bride-prices, and extended rural family life.

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4.1/5

She Plays with the Darkness by Zakes Mda

In a remote mountain village in Lesotho, the beautiful Dikosha lives for dancing and for song, setting herself apart from her fellow villagers. Her twin brother, Radisene, works in the lowland capital of Maseru, struggling amid political upheaval to find a life for himself away from the hills. As the years pass, Radisene's fortunes rise and fall in the city, while Dikosha In a remote mountain village in Lesotho, the beautiful Dikosha lives for dancing and for song, setting herself apart from her fellow villagers. Her twin brother, Radisene, works in the lowland capital of Maseru, struggling amid political upheaval to find a life for himself away from the hills. As the years pass, Radisene's fortunes rise and fall in the city, while Dikosha remains in the village, never leaving and never aging. And through it all, the community watches, comments, and passes judgment.

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4.3/5

The Mountain School by Greg Alder

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a mountainous enclave in southern Africa, and like mountain zones throughout the world it is isolated, steeped in tradition, and home to few outsiders. The people, known as Basotho, are respected in the area as the only tribe never to be defeated by European colonizers. Greg Alder arrives in Tšoeneng as the village’s first foreign resident since 1 The Kingdom of Lesotho is a mountainous enclave in southern Africa, and like mountain zones throughout the world it is isolated, steeped in tradition, and home to few outsiders. The people, known as Basotho, are respected in the area as the only tribe never to be defeated by European colonizers. Greg Alder arrives in Tšoeneng as the village’s first foreign resident since 1966. In that year, the Canadian priest who had been living there was robbed and murdered in his quarters. Set up as a Peace Corps teacher at the village’s secondary school, Alder finds himself incompetent in so many unexpected ways. How do you keep warm in this place where it snows but there is no electricity? For how long can dinners of cornmeal and leaves sustain you? Tšoeneng is a world apart from his home in America. But he persists in becoming familiar with the new lifestyle; he learns to speak the strange local tongue and is eventually invited to participate in initiation rites. Yet even as he seems accepted into the Tšoeneng fold, he sees how much of an outsider he will always remain—and perhaps want to remain. The Mountain School is insightful, candid, at times adaptive and at times rebellious. It is the ultimate tale of the transplant.

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4/5

How We Buried Puso by Morabo Morojele

How we buried Puso is a novel which deals with themes characteristic of post-colonial African literature - identity, spirituality, community, and Africanness. It examines the impact of exile on the individual and the community, as well as the related problem of alienation. The themes of colonialism and dispossession are presented through Molefe's, often rather wry, observa How we buried Puso is a novel which deals with themes characteristic of post-colonial African literature - identity, spirituality, community, and Africanness. It examines the impact of exile on the individual and the community, as well as the related problem of alienation. The themes of colonialism and dispossession are presented through Molefe's, often rather wry, observations. The manner in which the recent history of Lesotho is narrated is a graphic take on the neglect of Empire, and the understated cynicism of the narrator's tone is extremely eloquent.

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4.6/5

In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut

A young man takes three journeys, through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way - including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge - he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man's best intentions, each journey ends in disa A young man takes three journeys, through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way - including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge - he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man's best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together, these three journeys will change his whole life. A novel of longing and thwarted desire, rage and compassion, "In a Strange Room" is the hauntingly beautiful evocation of one man's search for love, and a place to call home.

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4.3/5

Lonely Planet South Africa Lesotho & Swaziland by Lonely Planet , Mary Fitzpatrick , Kate Armstrong

South Africa is the most popular kid on the block in Africa and it's easy to see why. The southern end of Africa teems with adventure: hike, bike and fly amid craggy peaks and open plains, catch a tantalising glimpse of streakily painted zebras in the savanna, encounter the vibrant cultures of San, Khoikhoi, Zulu and Xhosa. And when you're ready for the high life, tour the South Africa is the most popular kid on the block in Africa and it's easy to see why. The southern end of Africa teems with adventure: hike, bike and fly amid craggy peaks and open plains, catch a tantalising glimpse of streakily painted zebras in the savanna, encounter the vibrant cultures of San, Khoikhoi, Zulu and Xhosa. And when you're ready for the high life, tour the vineyards or live it up in cities bursting with food, wine and culture. Tickle Your Tastebuds - take our insider tips for the best restaurants, wineries, cafes and bars. Unravel The Past - in-depth coverage of the region's eventful history. Get Active - handpicked listings so you know where to surf, dive, horse ride, sail, bike, hike and fly. Be The Expert - know your impala from your steenbok with our wildlife special section. Travel Safely - we keep you worded up on the scams, health issues and no-go areas.

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4.6/5

Thoughts in a Makeshift Mortuary by Jenny Hobbs

1985. In a mountain village in Lesotho, a father rages as a mother weeps. Shot dead: their only daughter Rose, a teacher, and her husband Jake, an activist and poet. South Africa’s laws forced them into exile, while hooded gunmen took their lives. Amid the sorrow and commotion of funeral preparations, Rose and her parents’ evolving understanding of their turbulent country 1985. In a mountain village in Lesotho, a father rages as a mother weeps. Shot dead: their only daughter Rose, a teacher, and her husband Jake, an activist and poet. South Africa’s laws forced them into exile, while hooded gunmen took their lives. Amid the sorrow and commotion of funeral preparations, Rose and her parents’ evolving understanding of their turbulent country and of each other unfolds, always intimately connected with the lives of the women who worked for them. But all has not been lost: there was a survivor of the shooting. Hope. Thoughts in a Makeshift Mortuary, Jenny Hobbs’s rich, powerful first novel, is a story about ordinary living in extraordinary times and a moving tribute to those who worked to raise a South Africa driven to its knees.

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4.2/5

Traveller to the East by Thomas Mofolo

Mofolo's novel is an allegory in which a young African in search of truth and virtue journeys to a land where white men help bring him to Christian salvation.

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4.4/5

The Anti-Politics Machine: "Development," Depoliticization, and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho by James Ferguson

Development, it is generally assumed, is good and necessary, and in its name the West has intervened, implementing all manner of projects in the impoverished regions of the world. When these projects fail, as they do with astonishing regularity, they nonetheless produce a host of regular and unacknowledged effects, including the expansion of bureaucratic state power and th Development, it is generally assumed, is good and necessary, and in its name the West has intervened, implementing all manner of projects in the impoverished regions of the world. When these projects fail, as they do with astonishing regularity, they nonetheless produce a host of regular and unacknowledged effects, including the expansion of bureaucratic state power and the translation of the political realities of poverty and powerlessness into "technical" problems awaiting solution by "development" agencies and experts. It is the political intelligibility of these effects, along with the process that produces them, that this book seeks to illuminate through a detailed case study of the workings of the "development" industry in one country, Lesotho, and in one "development" project. Using an anthropological approach grounded in the work of Foucault, James Ferguson analyzes the institutional framework within which such projects are crafted and the nature of "development discourse," revealing how it is that, despite all the "expertise" that goes into formulating development projects, they nonetheless often demonstrate a startling ignorance of the historical and political realities of the locale they are intended to help. In a close examination of the attempted implementation of the Thaba-Tseka project in Lesotho, Ferguson shows how such a misguided approach plays out, how, in fact, the "development" apparatus in Lesotho acts as an "anti-politics machine," everywhere whisking political realities out of sight and all the while performing, almost unnoticed, its own pre-eminently political operation of strengthening the state presence in the local region.James Ferguson is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of California at Irvine.

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3.9/5

Rogue Eagle by James McClure

Wolraad Steyn, his palms sweating, clasped and unclasped the hand that would plunge the dagger. His father noticed this and frowned. They were standing apart from the other dark-suited and solemn men gathered there in that farmhouse.... He who betrays the Brotherhood will be destroyed by the Brotherhood! The Brotherhood never forgets! Its vengeance is swift and sure! Never has Wolraad Steyn, his palms sweating, clasped and unclasped the hand that would plunge the dagger. His father noticed this and frowned. They were standing apart from the other dark-suited and solemn men gathered there in that farmhouse.... He who betrays the Brotherhood will be destroyed by the Brotherhood! The Brotherhood never forgets! Its vengeance is swift and sure! Never has a traitor escaped his just punishment! High in the mountains of LEsotho an elite secret organisation plots a terrorist outrage that could throw South Africa into political turmoil.

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4.3/5

African Tales (One World, One Planet) by Gcina Mhlophe , Rachel Griffin (Illustrator)

This African collection is beautifully illustrated with hand-sewn embroidered artwork decorated with African beads on a silk base. The eight tales are from Ghana, Senegal, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Sudan, Swaziland and Ethiopia; each is prefaced by a short introduction to the country.

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4.1/5

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price. Until something goes wrong. . . . In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizin An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price. Until something goes wrong. . . . In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller.

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4.3/5

Little Suns by Zakes Mda

It is 1903. A lame and frail Malangana – ‘Little Suns’ – searches for his beloved Mthwakazi after many lonely years spent in Lesotho. Mthwakazi was the young woman he had fallen in love with twenty years earlier, before the assassination of Hamilton Hope ripped the two of them apart. Intertwined with Malangana’s story, is the account of Hope – a colonial magistrate who, in It is 1903. A lame and frail Malangana – ‘Little Suns’ – searches for his beloved Mthwakazi after many lonely years spent in Lesotho. Mthwakazi was the young woman he had fallen in love with twenty years earlier, before the assassination of Hamilton Hope ripped the two of them apart. Intertwined with Malangana’s story, is the account of Hope – a colonial magistrate who, in the late nineteenth century, was undermining the local kingdoms of the eastern Cape in order to bring them under the control of the British. It was he who wanted to coerce Malangana’s king and his people, the amaMpondomise, into joining his battle – a scheme Malangana’s conscience could not allow. Zakes Mda’s fine new novel 'Little Suns' weaves the true events surrounding the death of Magistrate Hope into a touching story of love and perseverance that can transcend exile and strife.

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