This collection of short stories explores the 'survival of the fittest' in the hardship and poverty of a remote village in Matabeleland. Bongani Sibanda draws his characters and their situations with a sardonic eye and caustic humour. Sibanda satirises churches which enrich their leaders with the tithes of the poor, and draws our attention to self-proclaimed pastors who use the 'gospel of nationalism and patriotism' to persuade their congregants to desist from supporting opposition politics. The church is also a source of the villagers' weekly entertainment, with its cleansing ceremonies...