Summary Because trees tend to be objectified, labelled botanically without any awareness of the import of their presence, the novels and short story considered in this article are unusual. Zakes Mda’s The Heart of Redness (2000), Niq Mhlongo’s Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree (2018), Mia Couto’s Under the Frangipani (2001) and Beverley Rycroft’s A Slim Green Silence (2015) foreground the presence of trees in their narratives, all implicitly critiquing a “culture” which neglects to acknowledge a tree in its full significance. In The Heart of Redness, Zim merges with ancestral time via his beloved fig tree. The title short story in Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree depicts the eponymous tree as both a material participant in apartheid history as well as a link to indigenous beliefs. In Under the Frangipani, Mucanga, the main character, attains his desired oblivion from the narrative self as he merges with “plant life”. Yellowwoods feature centrally in the awareness of Connie’s spirit in A Slim Green Silence. Merging into arboreal being has ontological implications for the characters as well as a broader animist significance. At the same time, the trees are biopolitical subjects rooted in the temporal environment.

中文翻译：

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树栖生物：近期南部非洲小说中与树木的相遇

总结 因为树木往往被客观化，被植物标记而没有意识到它们存在的重要性，所以本文中考虑的小说和短篇小说是不寻常的。Zakes Mda 的 The Heart of Redness (2000)、Niq Mhlongo 的 Soweto、Under the Apricot Tree (2018)、Mia Couto 的 Under the Frangipani (2001) 和 Beverley Rycroft 的 A Slim Green Silence (2015) 在他们的叙述中都突出了树木的存在，含蓄地批评一种忽视承认一棵树的全部意义的“文化”。在 The Heart of Redness 中，Zim 通过他心爱的无花果树与祖先的时间融合在一起。索韦托的短篇小说《杏树下》将同名树描绘为种族隔离历史的物质参与者，以及与土著信仰的联系。在鸡蛋花下，穆坎加，主角，当他与“植物生命”融合时，从叙事自我中获得了他想要的遗忘。Yellowwoods 在 A Slim Green Silence 中对 Connie 精神的认识处于中心位置。融入树栖生物对角色具有本体论意义以及更广泛的万物有灵论意义。同时，树木是植根于时间环境的生命政治主题。