I picked this up in South Africa over Christmas, a 40 Rand bargain in a second hand bookshop in Obs (Cape Town). I was drawn to it because of the different nationalities of the writers, perfect for the Olympic Challenge. The collection is a who's who of Southern African literature: Doris Lessing, Nadine Gardiner, Mia Couto, etc. I was also pleased to see some less well-known writers (outside S.A.) like RIchard Rive, the writer of Buckingham Palace, which is on S.A.'s Year 10 syllabus, and Achmet Dangor, whose Bitter Fruit I discovered a couple of years ago.
The best thing about this collection is the different perspectives and snapshots of life in Southern Africa: colour, race, religion, socio-economic background, etc. The stories are spread over thirty years, a period of time which saw a vast change in the region, such as independence, the end of Apartheid, and so on.

My favourites included Rain and The Hands of the Blacks. ( )