Leroy Mthulisi Ndlovus short stories make one nostalgic for a youth lived on the streets of Bulawayo, a city presented in the collection in all its beauty and with all the tragi-comedy (more tragic than comic really) of a down-on-her-luck but still vivacious and sweet-natured whore: you might not always like what shes doing but you cant help rooting for her. This short story collection is that whore: lovable in the extreme, uniquely appealing and with just enough hints at horror to keep you reading and wishing you could stop. You will keep reading.

Ndlovus characters are nothing like youve seen before. They are charismatic, distinctive, tragic, relatable and best of all, they are proudly, undeniably Bulawayo.

A young barely-functioning alcoholic finds love amid a haunting by his mothers ghost and loses that love in the most heartbreaking way. A young boy discovers hes been made into a cannibal without his knowledge or consent. Theres another young man who walks into the light - and back again. Do not make the mistake of thinking its a collection about young men with myriad problems - there are women too, and what women. The penny whores who arent quite what they seem. The lover who reads The Prophet and takes sexual liberation to new heights, with tragic consequences and of course the inimitable one known only as The Thoroughbred.

Ndlovu writes with the lyrical skill of a master, seamlessly weaving isiNdebele into his tales and reminding readers that this is a collection conceived and written in the City of Kings and true to those kings, there is no mercy for the uninitiated. As the adage goes: ngeshwa ke isiNdebele asitolikwa.

Some of the stories are shocking, all of them are appealing. From layout to subject to language and tone, this is a collection the like of which has not yet been published: a perfect read for all of Bulawayo and indeed all of the literary world. If you know Bulawayo youll enjoy this collection and if you dont, youll wish you did.