Tales of the Metric System, by Imraan Coovadia (Ohio University Press, 2014) is an important read. Tales of the Metric System, by Imraan Coovadia (Ohio University Press, 2014) is an important read. It conveys, through ten linked short stories, detailed truths about the transition from apartheid to self-rule in South Africa. There is a difference in having read news of change over the past forty years in South Africa, remembering hearing of Nelson Mandela's struggles, and watching various documentaries to reading these ten complete narratives. It's in the details of daily life, the consequence of small actions, the fear, the kindness, and the curiosity of being human exposed in these stories that we feel and know the change. Anyone wondering about the internal lives of private citizens during and after apartheid in South Africa would do well to read this collection of linked short stories.