The Madonna of Excelsior

Name: The Madonna of Excelsior
Author: Zakes Mda

by Zakes Mda

South African women bear the stigma of pregnancy beyond marriage and segregation

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About the author

Zakes Mda

South African novelist, playwright, and artist whose magical realist fiction celebrates South African rural life and the post-apartheid transformation. The Heart of Redness is his most celebrated novel. He is one of the leading voices in contemporary South African literature.

More by Zakes Mda

The Heart of RednessChief navigates tribal memory and colonial violence across two timelines
Ways of DyingMan embraces dying ritual as meaning-making in post-apartheid South Africa
CionWoman plants life-giving cuttings as living memorial to family and diaspora
Black DiamondMan searches for belonging amid violence, greed, and post-apartheid transformation
She Plays with the DarknessBlind woman navigates post-apartheid South Africa with dignity and sensuality
The Whale CallerMysterious healer in South Africa draws whales to shore through obsessive devotion