African Rhapsody

Obradovic gathers fascinating and illuminating stories, told and translated with varying levels of skill. The 25 tales in this compilation span the African continent and cover themes from growing up under colonialism and apartheid to aging and dying in the Biafran conflict. Gender is another thing. Obradovic states in her preface that contemporary female writers ``have not cultivated the short story as a genre,'' so there is only one woman in the collection, Sindiwe Magona of South Africa. But her ``It Was Easter Sunday the Day I Went to Netreg,'' is an expertly crafted, psychological powerhouse of a story about a pregnant unwed teenager from a black South African township who is taken by her mother and her mother's white employer to have a backroom abortion. Afterward, the girl reflects that ``nothing can bring back the innocence I lost that day . . . . '' Some stories end too abruptly, although ``The Advance,'' by Henri Lopes, is all the more devastating for its sudden conclusion. It depicts a Congolese maid, whose own son lies at home dying from starvation and illness, trying to coax her white Belgian mistress's pampered daughter to eat. Other compelling stories present strong anti-war messages. In ``The Last Battle,'' by Ossie O. Enekwe, a Biafran war hero ``loses faith'' in his own side and surrenders to the enemy after seeing the men he is assigned to lead--``waifs waiting for extermination.'' These stories, many of them powerful illustrations of moral dilemmas, leave in their wake a memorable impression of contemporary African life. (Mar.)