The Tomorrow-Tamer (Penguin Modern Classics)

Set in mid-century Ghana, where shiny Jaguars and modern jazz jostle for eminence against fetish figures, tribal rites, and the unchanging beat of jungle drums, this ten-story collection tells of individuals, European and African, trying to come to terms with the frightening world brought about by the country's new freedom and independence.

With the same compassion and understanding she displays in her later works, Laurence succeeds brilliantly in capturing the atmosphere of a nation struggling for survival and self under the winds of change.