The Boston Globe has honored Zambian author Mubanga Kalimamukwento by including her short story collection, Obligations to the Wounded, in its prestigious list of the 75 Best Books of 2024. This recognition underscores Kalimamukwento’s literary prowess and the collection’s profound exploration of the challenges faced by women in contemporary society.
Published in October 2024 by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Obligations to the Wounded is a compelling collection of short stories that delve into the lives of Zambian women navigating societal expectations and personal struggles. The narratives are rooted in Zambian literary tradition, offering readers a nuanced understanding of womanhood in Zambia.
The collection has been praised for its rich, rolling, and riveting prose, with each story serving as a deftly realized portrait of a woman insisting on her individual humanity while contending with the expectations of her family, community, religion, and history.
Critics have lauded Obligations to the Wounded for its timely and wrenching stories about contemporary Zambian women. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described the collection as “both timely and timeless,” highlighting its special attention to the complexities of womanhood.
Reader reviews have also been overwhelmingly positive, with many noting the profound exploration of the lives of Zambian women and the remarkable storytelling that offers a deep understanding of their experiences.
Mubanga Kalimamukwento is a Zambian attorney and writer. She is the winner of the 2022 Tusculum Review Poetry Chapbook Contest, the 2019 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award, and the 2019 Kalemba Short Story Prize. Her first novel, The Mourning Bird, was listed among the top fifteen debut books of 2019 by Brittle Paper. Her work has appeared in various publications and platforms, including Adda, Aster(ix), Overland, the Red Rock Review, Menelique, and on Netflix. She also serves as a fiction editor for Doek! and as a mentor at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
Obligations to the Wounded is available for purchase through various retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The collection is available in both hardcover and ebook formats.
Congratulations Mubanga Kalimamukwento!
