Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika

Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun

Sarah Ladipo Manyika

A mischievous exploration of old age from a feisty protagonist. Despite being a meditation of ageing this is no morbid tale but instead we are immersed in humour and humanity, with contrapuntal voices depicting both a zest for life and contemplative acceptance of reality. An elegant, affecting portrait of a life.

Extract
It was rare that I found myself missing the pomp and ceremony of those evenings, and yet tonight I long for just a moment of that time when I might enter a room and know that heads would turn. Know that every member of my staff would be attentive to even my smallest, most discreet request. Know that as hostess I had some power, at the very least, to request a drink. So what’s the worst that will happen if I now ask for a glass of wine? Still dancing, I make my way to an empty table, not noticing at first that people have started running. In the commotion that follows, I feel someone grab hold of my wrist. I think it’s an earthquake so I try ducking beneath a table. Then I feel someone lift me up.
Parallels
  • The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
  • Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
  • Stay with me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò