Even with Insects by Barbara Erasmus

A novel about choice the random decisions that determine the path that life will follow. It's set in scenic Cape Town in the new, post-election South Africa, a country in a state of transformation. Retrenchment, affirmative action, technological change, AIDS and emigration are some of the issues that complicate the lives and loves of three close friends -- an insect trio, linked by their discordant proportions. Ann is too tall -- a lanky mosquito of a girl. Sophie is too fat -- a bee of royal proportions. She's a strong soprano and follows a career in music. And Jacqueline is too small -- the fine-boned, sensual firefly of the team. She holds a masters degree in social anthropology and dabbles with the sangomas and holistic healing. Their career choices lead them to the eastern and western corners of the globe. The story moves through time and chronicles the evolution of their careers and lifestyles as they move through an insect cycle of metamorphosis to migration, reproduction and perhaps extinction.