The Limbo Circus
From mystical realism of children who can fly and turn themselves inside out, to the stark reality of political wounds that refuse to heal, each story exposes layers of human nature to reveal both beauty and darkness. The collection offers deep understanding of the southern African social landscape while grounded in universal experiences: the need for acceptance, the weight of secrets, and unexpected resilience in the face of failure and loss.
R320.00
DATE
GENRE
PAGES
ISBN
The Limbo Circus
In these masterfully crafted stories set across southern Africa, ordinary lives intersect with extraordinary circumstances, weaving together tales of survival, betrayal, and transformation.
At a township’s edge, the child performers of an improvised circus develop impossible abilities, defying gravity and reality. In post-independence rural Namibia, a security guard protects an abandoned fish farm while harbouring painful secrets about wartime loyalty. A zoologist’s search for a new amphibian species in Zambia masks deeper personal turmoil, leading to tragic consequences. And a conversation with a seductive stranger on a flight to Addis Ababa becomes the turning point in the life of a young woman flailing between two cultures.
From a teenage girl’s near-fatal swim off the coast of Mozambique to the stark choices facing a naive man caught up in corrupt activities as the pandemic rages, each story exposes layers of human nature to reveal both beauty and darkness. The collection offers a deep understanding of the region’s social landscape while remaining grounded in universal experiences: the need for acceptance, the weight of secrets, and unexpected resilience in the face of failure and loss.
M.A. Kelly or Marisa (‘Mel’) Kelly is originally from Manchester, England. She worked at London Zoo as a senior keeper and then in veterinary nursing before going on to study film theory. An English-language editor and writer since arriving in Windhoek in 1998, she also manages a small-scale women’s upcycling project, ‘Sew Good Namibia’. Her fiction has appeared on the Kalahari Review website and she has also contributed regular opinion pieces to The Namibian newspaper on social, cultural and economic issues.
“Humorous, pensive, and tender, the stories in The Limbo Circus are richly varied and enthralling. Through M.A Kelly’s affectionate eye and exacting prose, each story invites us to bear witness to the lives of others, in all of their contradictions and idiosyncrasies.” David Mann, author of Once Removed
For her previous collection:
“A feast of short stories with big themes and suspenseful storytelling. Kelly’s characters are so well observed, it feels like you could look up from the page and greet them.” Sally Cranswick, author of Women Out of Water
“This is an extraordinary collection of work. M A Kelly is a rare combination of talents. She has an extremely clear view of the world and all that is to be human. And she has the brilliant craftsmanship to record it all kindness, beauty and care we all deserve. Reading her work is a privilege.” Kalahari Review
“Kelly takes a cool but interested look at identity and our sense of who we are. And, related to that, is love and how we recognise and manifest it, how the blessing of sudden insight can change life decisions and plans.” Jane Rosenthal, News24
“Kelly’s writing is engrossing and transportive, ranging from the bizarre to the ironic, with some stories reaching an apex and others seemingly meandering along. Ultimately, the reader is left with a strange sense of satisfaction at the sheer absurdity of it all or nodding in agreement in recognition of the varied cultural misunderstandings and everyday chaos of life…
She certainly has a knack of getting to the very heart of characters from various cultural backgrounds, perhaps linking back to her early experiences of being raised in Manchester, England, by working-class parents.” Natasha Uys The Namibian
