A Bed on Bricks gives a gift of nine stories, each tracing complex psychological journeys and relationships pulled apart by chasms of culture, age, class, race and place.

Fumbling for one another across these divides, characters are as rich and diverse as the southern African landscapes they inhabit; an out-of-place academic encounters unusual findings, a too-kind school teacher gets drawn into a drama not of his making, ambitious film-makers go in search of (mis)adventure, children encounter puberty and cross-continental lovers slowly drift apart. As we delve deeper and deeper into the minds and feelings of these characters, we become ever more immersed in their psychologies, caught up in the tension of their relationships and the suspense of their stories.

The much-anticipated sequel to the turtle dove told me (Modjaji Books, 2013), which won a SALA Award in 2014, stem of the moon is the second volume in a trilogy that spans the years 1990 – 2010.

In this collection, Sliepen paints impressions of a small town, Clarens in the Free State, as well as glimpses of life in the Netherlands and Bali. The reader shares the intimate experience of the birth of her first child and the poems take us on a profound journey through Namibia.  Sliepen’s latest collection is a love song to a child, a lover, a mother, and the quiet strength of the moon that connects us all.

Nedine Moonsamy

Seeking adventure during the school holidays, five teenagers from the Indian suburb of Lenasia accidentally witness a violent crime that has a lasting impact on their lives.