The Three Trials of Manirema

In The Three Trials of Manirema -- a mysterious, puzzling tale, perfectly told -- a small town is stricken by the strangest of plagues: the sudden visitation, nearby, of silent, self-sufficient men. No one knows who the strangers are, where they came from, or what they want. But with every passing day something unaccountable happens. The once-carefree town is overcome with tension as the carter, the storekeeper, the blacksmith, a courting couple are victimized. Confused and frightened, some people become secretive, some taciturn. A few stand their ground in the face of pressure and provocation, but most bend or reverse their values. Then, from the strangers' campsite, packs of howling dogs spread through the streets and gardens, invading houses, chasing down inhabitants. They bark, snarl, and whine for days. When, as if by magic, the dogs disappear, hundreds of plundering oxen descend upon the town. Houses are besieged, residents corralled, the land and air poisoned with excrement. Suddenly -- as if obeying a silent order -- they disappear. Dogs, men, the townspeople's self-destructive reaction: Are the mysterious strangers responsible? Are the animal invaders mere instruments of oppression or are they the men themselves in another guise? No one knows, and no one knows why the visitors themselves leave as suddenly and unpredictably as they arrived. A novel or an apologue? The reader must decide.