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Reflection Heinrich van den Berg HPH Publishing From the lion’s eye that coruscates on the front cover, to the final vivid double-page photographs of colourful birds in colourful surroundings, there is not a single page that doesn’t surprise the viewer,
Nora Webster Colm Tóibín Viking ISBN-13: 978-1439138335 REVIEW: Karin Schimke Imagine a novel stripped of drama, of a dramatic arc and of any pretensions towards a rich poetic language, which follows the minutia of the life of a widow in
The Arrogance of Power: The South Africa’s Leadership Meltdown Xolela Mangcu Tafelberg REVIEW: Mvelase Peppetta For me, politics is more than just mere politics. It can be as much a piece of entertainment as good a movie. At various points
Poems and history have coexisted since before writing began—as part of the remembering and passing down, from generation to generation, of oral histories. And today poets continue to explore people and events and retell those stories as poetry. MOIRA RICHARDS
Every year, The Star asks me to select the top ten South African books of the year. Lists – just like literary prizes – are inherently problematic, exclusionary and faulty, yet I love them for their cranky assumption that they
Esther’s House Carol Campbell Umuzi ISBN: 9781415207406 REVIEW: Sue Townsend Carol Campbell in this, her second novel, has tried to bring to life the depressing, dire situation in which many, if not most, of the ordinary people of South Africa
I’ve been reading women fiction writers lately, some of them recent books and others older releases. From the recent past, I was taken in by The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna and Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans, and here in particular her story, “Virgins”, which is the first
Thriller and crime fan Samantha Bartlett reviews two recent crime novels – one with a ghostly feel. Murder 101 Faye Kellerman Harper Collins ISBN: 9780062326355 Samantha Bartlett Faye Kellerman has kept readers engaged with the life and crimes of Detective
Karina Szczurek reviews two recent books with alternate realities. Tokoloshe Song Andrew Salomon Umuzi ISBN: 9781415207017 REVIEWER: Karina Szczurek Just when he thought that his life is going to be all peace and quiet after giving up a career as a
Outline Rachel Cusk Faber & Faber ISBN-13: 978-0374228347 REVIEW: Karin Schimke There is little evidence of the narrator of this story of stories. The reader knows that she is a woman, a writer, a writing coach, divorced and that she