In all her poetry Ingrid de Kok has deftly pushed at the boundaries of what can be said and reminded us of what we would rather forget.
An exhaustive book provides the political, social and sporting backdrop to the 1912 triangular Test tournament between England, Australia and SA.
<b>Imraan Coovadia</b> finds the points of difference in two authors’ approaches to writing.
An alternate take on the Messiah’s birth brings
modern women’s issues into the picture.
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/ 18 November 2011
Erich Rautenbach begins this wild and somewhat melancholic memoir with his arrest by two drug-squad cops.
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/ 18 November 2011
<b>Gwen Ansell</b> rounds up some of the latest science fiction and fantasy releases.
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/ 18 November 2011
It has much going for it, but Stephenson’s stereotypical treatment of Muslim terrorists lets his latest novel down.
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/ 18 November 2011
<em>The Fear Index</em>, a financial what-if, takes place entirely on the day that the Blair-Brown years officially ended: May 6 2010, election day.
Ivan Vladislavic plays not only with the idea of unwritten books or stories, but also with the idea of finishing itself.
The creator of the popular <i>Conqueror</i> and <i>Emperor</i> series does immaculate detail through broad strokes
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/ 18 November 2011
This ultra-readable pop-historical epic is the fourth bulky instalment of a sequence about the rise of the Mongol khans.
For avid readers of Vladislavic’s eight books, this collection is a worthy, accessible reference to keep close.
On the 46th anniversary of Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence, <b>Percy Zvomuya</b> surveys three books about Zimbabwe.
Surveying the trials and tribulations of pre- and postcolonial Namibia.
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/ 28 October 2011
A new book tries to get to the bottom of piracy and put a human face on those involved.
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/ 28 October 2011
Amos Oz’s latest book is exceptionally beautiful, with darkness at its heart.
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/ 21 October 2011
Horacio Castellanos Moya’s novel, <em>She-Devil in the Mirror, </em>is a matrix of murder and decadence, into which romance and drugs are thrown.
<i>Nineveh</i>’s plot is derived from strange and unlikely material yet, in its understated way, it is relentless and perfect.
Recently ‘Discovered’ in the West, Teju Cole was already known elsewhere.
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/ 23 September 2011
This frank look at how sexuality, sexual behaviours, relationship skills develop in a man, makes <i>Bad Sex</i> a groundbreaking novel.
This invaluable archive highlights the proximity between oppression and the rhetoric of liberation
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/ 19 September 2011
<b>Gwen Ansell</b> reviews some of the latest science fiction and fantasy titles.
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/ 19 September 2011
Mark Charan Newton explains his fascination
with the crucibles of human interaction.
<b>Shaun de Waal</b> interviews Hélène Smit about her book on depth psychology.
Suburbanites’ fears are defining the architecture of Johannesburg.
Is the focus of local publishers on ‘contemporary’ novels depriving us of good South African stories?
If Andile Mngxitama was sniffy about Anton Harber’s "intrusion into black spaces", how would he react to this biographical novel?
The sense of terror is visceral and unrelenting in a dark thriller about tragedy and horror in Peru.
Works by Chinese-South African authors give
insight into the immigrant experience.
<i>Stones against the Mirror</i> is Hugh Lewin’s second autobiographical work, and it examines some painful issues.
Tristan Garcia’s novel is a combination of French leftist politics and nihilism in the era of Aids.
Finuala Dowling’s third novel, <i>Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart,</i> explores familiar territory but is as poignant as ever.