Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Kak? The Zuma Years
Tim Richman (Two Dogs)
Book bru
***
It’s been seven years since the third of the Kak books, which was intended to be the last, but Tim Richman now offers us a fourth, which covers the corruption and chaos of Zuma’s presidency. The book also dips into international topics, though it misses some of the most controversial. This makes for a welcome break as the bulk is decidedly South African, which has the unintended effect of becoming exhausting. It’s best read in small doses to allow the humour to override your sense of outrage. — Mandy Watson @mandyjwatson
My Name is Lucy Barton
Elizabeth Strout (Penguin)
Book buff
***
“I have no memory of my mother ever kissing me. She may have kissed me though; I may be wrong.” Thus speaks Lucy Barton, who spends much of this tender novella in hospital, being treated for a mysterious ailment by a doctor so kind he makes Lucy want to weep. For some of the time her mother visits, sleeping in a chair next to Lucy’s bed, and they talk. They don’t talk about anything important; they talk of Elvis and people from back in the day, but somewhere in this talk of commonplaces they reach an understanding of each other. Sort of. Strout writes with the ear of a composer, both in passages of vivid dialogue and in the internal musings of Lucy’s mind, switching between her sick bed, her alienated childhood and her difficult adult relationships. Comparisons with Virginia Woolf have been made. Strout is much more engaging and easier to follow. — Sue de Groot @deGrootS1
Guide To Trees Introduced Into Southern Africa
Hugh Glen & Braam Van Wyk (Struik Nature)
Book trek
****
This book fills the niche of a guide to the exotic trees that have been introduced into southern Africa, covering 600 species out of an estimated 2 000. They’re all around us in the suburbs and parks, contributing substantially to Joburg’s famous “urban forest”. The book uses the same model of identification as Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa, with 43 groups and the identification of trees based on leaf and stem attributes. There is a map for each showing where it can be grown, and a brief description, including common names, place of origin, whether it is invasive, and its cultivation and uses. For tree-lovers it’s a great dip-into read. — Andrew Unsworth
The Teacher
Katerina Diamond (HarperCollins)
Book thrill
****
Katerina Diamond’s debut is delightfully different and, although it’s labelled a psychological crime thriller, the character’s reactions to evil are refreshingly uncomplicated. First the headmaster of an exclusive school, then a host of high-profile residents of a Devonshire town are murdered using agonising methods, and partners DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles – both of whom have troubled pasts – battle to find a connection between the killings. The book comprises innocent victims and unrepentantly cruel, twisted villains. Murder is always wrong and we should leave justice to the law – yet some crimes cry out for revenge and demand retribution. — Aubrey Paton
Book details
- Is it Just Me or is Everything Kak?: The Zuma Years by Tim Richman
EAN: 9781928230335
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- My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
EAN: 9780241248775
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- Guide to Trees Introduced into Southern Africa by Hugh Glen, Braam van Wyk
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EAN: 9781775841258
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- The Teacher by Katerina Diamond
EAN: 9780008168155
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