The Intimate Strangeness of Tongues and Wings: Precarity and Conviviality in The Book of Malachi by T.C. Farren and The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu

Two speculative novels, which were recently published in South Africa, are analyzed in this article as they reveal forms of precarity in various African settings, and they imaginatively portray forms of conviviality to offset or transcend political and social oppression. The Book of Malachi by T.C. Farren was published in 2019 and The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu in 2018. These works are particularly pertinent to current public debate and outrage in South Africa about recurring outbreaks of xenophobia and the prevalence of gender-based violence, rape and femicide. I begin by providing a brief overview of the novels before expanding on my theoretical perspective, combining African and Western work. In the heart of the paper, I examine each of my primary texts in turn, arguing that, in these examples of speculative fiction, precarity and conviviality are presented as intimately connected concepts that simultaneously highlight the effects of oppression, violence and trauma, while they portray interpersonal and transcultural connections enacting hard-won empathy, generosity and courage as hopeful antidotes to pessimism, despair and defeatism.