The Shipikisha Club
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cassava Republic Press
Published:23rd Jul '26
Should be back in stock very soon
A woman on trial. A marriage built on silence. A culture that demands endurance.
Sali, a working mother of three, is on trial for the murder of her husband, Kasunga. Accused of shooting him after a fight in their bedroom, she pleads not guilty and must rely on an overworked legal aid lawyer as a courtroom hungry for judgement looks on.
Fourteen years earlier, Sali’s life was shaped by a different kind of violence. The pressure to conform, to endure, to shipikisha. When an affair with a wealthy, married man ends in sudden death, she enters a loveless marriage to escape the shame of unwed motherhood. What follows is a life marked by infidelity, financial strain, postnatal depression and quiet suffering, until endurance finally gives way.
Told through a braided narrative moving between past and present, The Shipikisha Club is a powerful literary novel about marriage, motherhood and the devastating cost of silence in contemporary Zambia.
‘Kalimamukwento’s characters are all wonderfully complex … The Shipikisha Club builds to a shocking crescendo – no small feat when readers know the crime at the start.’ — The Continent
‘This compelling and heartbreaking story is a striking commentary on how entire societies, including other women, hold up the patriarchy and therefore can bring it down. It's past time.’ — Iris Mwanza, author of The Lions' Den
‘A heart-wrenching, unforgettable story of beauty, courage, and the strength of female determination.’ — Kirkus
‘Expertly explores the insidious nature of toxic patriarchal systems.’ — Booklist (starred review)
‘A riveting, nuanced novel.’ — Foreword Reviews
ISBN: 9781913175900
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
240 pages