These three short stories by Seydi Sow, Florent Couao-Zotti and Abdourahman Ali Waberi provide us with an exciting taste of contemporary Francophone African writing. 'From the Depths of a Well' is an ironic modern parable about the corruption of principle and the erosion of trust; 'Small Hells on Street Corners' reflects on the life of a street kid living from hand to mouth in a pitiless society; and 'The Fools' Gallery' describes the dream world into which people escape while life founders around them.