The controversial topic of botched traditional circumcision has been very much in the news of late. This powerful first novel recounts the personal trauma of a young Xhosa initiate after one such circumcision gone wrong. With frankness and courage, the author details the pain and life-long shame that is experienced as a result of not just the physical trauma, but the social ostracism of being labelled 'a failed man'. He decodes the values and mysteries of this deep-seated cultural tradition and calls to account the elders for the disintegrating support systems that allow such tragic outcomes to happen. But it is also through this life-changing experience that his protagonist is forced to find his strength and humanity, and reassess what it really means to be a man.