An anomalous kiss. A white turtle ferrying the dreams of the dead. A working siesta in a five-star hotel. A woman’s twelve-metre hair trawling corpses from a river. Or a queue of longings in Darlinghurst. These enigmatic tales are stories of chance and hope. Alternately mythic, wistful or quirky, Merlinda Bobis’ tales resonate with an original and confident storytelling voice.

What drives young women and what drives them mad? Twenty-something women talk about living their feminism. What they do, how they do it and why they choose to do it as feminists. The private collides with the public, anger with humour, desire with ideals. Writing themselves into the debate, these young women are talking up.

‘Marion Molteno’s stories concern one community and her relationship with it that has been sustained and practical over the years… Their chief and overwhelming characteristic is her compassion and her talent for sensitive perception.’ —Anita Desai

A vivid collection of stories based on the author’s nine years as an adult education worker, mainly among women from India and Pakistan living in...