"The Black Madonna" by Doris Lessing - *****

• Short Story Collection
• Nobel author, born in Iran, then raised in Zimbabwe
• Six stories
• Setting:  Zimbabwe
• "The Black Madonna":  The wisdom and talent of an Italian POW brings about the psychological breakdown of a German officer
• "The Trinket Box":  the death of Aunt Maud brings the relatives to their existential knees
• "The Pig": Dehumanization seems a universal "talent"
• "Traitors": poignant child's view of trying to straddle the divided loyalties to parents and adults in general
• "The Old Chief Mshlanga": the unanswerable questions of race and culture begin to emerge, as does a sense of humanity in a young white girl in Africa
• "A Sunrise on the Veld":  coming of age, its joys and quandries
• "No Witchcraft For Sale":  the vast gap between Whites and natives, efforts to hold on to what belings to the natives thwarts the piwerful Whites
• Review: You know you are in the presence of a great writer when you have to pause frequently to soak in the meaning and savor the way in which it was presented.  The short story collection entitled, "The Black Madonna", is such a collection.  Doris Lessing's writing is direct, unsettling, charming, and profound.  She was born in Iran, raised in Zimbabwe, then moved to her parents' native England.  Each of these stories is a gem, and I love things that sparkle!