Affluenza

Niq Mhlongo returns with a collection of short stories that cover the span of our democracy: crime, xenophobia, racism and homophobia, the new black elite, land redistribution, the Zuma presidency. The stories have been published to critical acclaim in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the USA but remain largely unknown in South Africa. A​ffluenza offers us a chance to savour Niq Mhlongo’s take on the madness of the last twenty years.

Fana’s eyes wandered from one corner to another. Joburg people! he thought. Why would a person buy such an expensive car but live in a place like this? He shook his head. This is Johussleburg and everyone here is suffering from affluenza. Almost every black person pretends to be rich while staying in a rented room. Didn’t he just pay for the ladies’ expensive drinks with his credit card when he already skipped two instalments on his car? Who was he to judge? In his first unabridged collection of short stories, acclaimed author Niq Mhlongo confronts the span of our democracy and the madness of the last twenty years after apartheid. He takes an unflinching look at urban and rural South Africa, which he explores through themes such as racism, xenophobia, homophobia, crime, land redistribution and economic inequality. Stylistically satirical and piercing, the stories combine Mhlongo’s street-smart realism with a truly South African magical realism.