My mother loved doing cryptic crosswords and occasionally I'd puzzle over a clue with her when I was round having coffee. And I'd think that I'd like My mother loved doing cryptic crosswords and occasionally I'd puzzle over a clue with her when I was round having coffee. And I'd think that I'd like to get into the habit myself. But I never have. Now, reading this (which was my July Christmas book from my daughter), I feel very strongly that I'd like to go to the shop and buy a volume of puzzles and just start. The thing is, Balfour has shown me that you don't have to finish any puzzle in a hurry, or in one day, or in one week - that it can be something you come back to multiple times. There's no rush. And the pleasure of finally figuring out a tricky clue is marvellous.
Kipling is another of these people - artists, writers, composers - who one has to separate the person from the work. Kipling was undoubtedly a remarkaKipling is another of these people - artists, writers, composers - who one has to separate the person from the work. Kipling was undoubtedly a remarkable writer, and I'll always love The Jungle Book and the Just So Stories, but I'm quite sure that if I met him to talk to, I wouldn't like him. He made dreadful generalisations about anyone who wasn't English or male. Given that, I skimmed many portions of this book. On the other hand, some of it was really interesting....more
This is an excellent teen novel set primarily among poverty-stricken blacks in a shanty town in South Africa. Our chief protagonist, Amandla, is the cThis is an excellent teen novel set primarily among poverty-stricken blacks in a shanty town in South Africa. Our chief protagonist, Amandla, is the child of a mixed union and lives with her white mother in Sugar Town among the poorest of the poor. We face issues of the dangers from within the community - drugs, violence, intimidation. We see true friendship. And we travel with Amandla as she uncovers her mother's secrets and begins to find her place in the world.
I really enjoyed this book - it's the second I've read by Jaco Jacobs (the first was A Good Night for Shooting Zombies) and has his signature light stI really enjoyed this book - it's the second I've read by Jaco Jacobs (the first was A Good Night for Shooting Zombies) and has his signature light style while touching on issues that get many of us involved. In this case, it's the council-planned cutting down of a beautiful old tree.
I love the way Marnus accidentally becomes an activist, and I love the various characters - Mrs Merriman with her pink clothing and hair, Uncle John the caretaker at the bowling green, Killer the protesting student ...
I also really like the way Jacobs slips in a little history lesson - just a snippet which could well intrigue a young reader and cause him or her to look up some of the struggles that South Africa has endured. Nicely done....more
I couldn't resist this book - the first page had me chortling. On top of that, a key protagonist had the same name as me. Well, she's kind-of a key prI couldn't resist this book - the first page had me chortling. On top of that, a key protagonist had the same name as me. Well, she's kind-of a key protagonist ... after all, her death is what started it all. And okay, she's a chicken (literally), but she was important to Martin. And if the neighbour's dog hadn't killed her Martin would never have met Vusi because Vusi was homeschooled and never exited the house. So Kathleen is very important to the plot.
I might like to lay claim to having been important to various people's plots as they have lived their life stories, but I don't think there are any other parallels. Nor has my life any parallels to the human characters in this story. But my sense of humour obviously parallels that of the author. I laughed a lot as Martin with his mathematical brain had to make sense of Vusi's imagination, and then as Chris came along with her ready fists and her practical critique of Vusi's movie plot (it had major holes in it!).
This book also has a great heart - Kathleen's isn't the only death, and the theme is handled sensitively and honestly. And the growth of a friendship is detailed so nicely. The adventure that thrusts itself upon the kids adds an extra dimension, and the whole book is most enjoyable....more
I rarely watch anything on the TV so I didn't know this man at all. However, our bookshop got in the teen version of his autobiography so I thought I'I rarely watch anything on the TV so I didn't know this man at all. However, our bookshop got in the teen version of his autobiography so I thought I'd have a look at this. He writes very entertainingly and his account of his childhood in South Africa is excellent. There's nothing in it that is new to me - I have friends who are Afrikaans and Coloured and Black and we have talked extensively at various times. On top of that I've read articles and novels and non-fiction about South Africa at quite a few different times in its history. However, it's good to have these things reiterated, and with Noah being a public figure in the United States, this will give a lot more people some major insights....more
My mother, more than 30 years ago, was on the jury of a murder trial. I remember her talking about it afterwards, and her surprise that the woman and My mother, more than 30 years ago, was on the jury of a murder trial. I remember her talking about it afterwards, and her surprise that the woman and her husband (she killed him after years of having been abused and assaulted by him) had been so full of such strong feelings at their age. I think they were in their 50s. Which is to say that I was brought up by a person who thought that one's strength of feelings diminshed with age - or that they ought to, perhaps. Well, unless one deliberately suppresses one's feelings, they don't diminish and we can honestly love and hate with as much energy as the young.
The two women in this book are in their 80s, and while they might be slowing down they haven't mellowed towards each other or to anybody else in their lives. One of them has 4 children of whom 3 never speak to her (and the other barely does), and the other takes delight in cutting people with her words. And we, the reader, get to find out what happened in their lives to make them the women they are, and to find out if these two neighbours will ever do more than cast spite at each other.
Set in present-day South Africa, the effect of white colonisation and the Apartheid era are still obvious, and this is also highlighted in the book, along with what it is to be a professional woman, and what it is to love. It gives the reader much to think about....more
I've said it before and I'll say it again - there's nothing like an excellent piece of fiction written for young people to bring the horrors of our moI've said it before and I'll say it again - there's nothing like an excellent piece of fiction written for young people to bring the horrors of our modern world into our lives (yes, good journalism and hard-hitting non-fiction for adults reach us equally as well), and this book will reach any reader from child to adult.
Beginning in Zimbabwe with the travesty that was called democracy had soldiers roaming the land and murdering villages, we leave the slaughter with Deo and his older brother Innocent and head for South Africa. Innocent believes they will find their father there, and it is this hope that Deo uses to encourage him through the terrifying ordeal - Innocent is 'different' and needs protection even in ordinary circumstances.
This is a story that is not for the faint-hearted. There's a lot of death. And there's a lot of opportunity for an adult share-reading this with a young person to talk about many other evils that are alluded to. Adults, if you see a kid reading this, please read it too so you can be there for them....more
A friend loaned me this book. She's from South Africa and I guess about 10 years younger than the girls in this novel - so, considering the many yearsA friend loaned me this book. She's from South Africa and I guess about 10 years younger than the girls in this novel - so, considering the many years of entrenched prejudice there, she lived through everything they did.
I found this book really interesting, but I didn't like it much as a novel. The writing style didn't connect with me, and I'm trying to analsye why. It's in the present tense all the way through, which shouldn't in itself be a problem as I've read and enjoyed other novels written in the present tense. This one moves over a period of some 20 or so years, and that shouldn't be a problem either, despite present tense all the way - after all, that's how we live our own lives. But perhaps that's the problem - our own lives are mostly pretty dull and wouldn't bear 70,000 words (or however many there are in this paperback), and though the times they live in are fascinating and the historical content and the appalling prejudice seen through the eyes or ordinary people are disturbing, there is (for me) simply too much of the daily detail.
I would have stopped reading this book part way through if it had not been about my friend's upbringing, as it were. Still, I can say I'm pleased I persevered (albeit very slowly)....more
I can't write a review for this - it has brought up too many strong emotions which, if I dwell on them, are liable to bring me to despair. I try to loI can't write a review for this - it has brought up too many strong emotions which, if I dwell on them, are liable to bring me to despair. I try to look with hope at the world, and I can always find things that are positive; the work needed to repair hatred and the maltreatment of Others, however, is going to be centuries-long.
This is quite possibly the most profoundly beautiful book I have ever read - the word-crafting is exquisite and the story heart-breaking.
All I knew ofThis is quite possibly the most profoundly beautiful book I have ever read - the word-crafting is exquisite and the story heart-breaking.
All I knew of this book before I read it was that it was written half a century ago, was set in South Africa, and was "a classic". I owned a small old paperback copy for quite a few years, but never got around to reading it, and I think I gave it away last year when I needed to cull my large personal library (a sad story, but true). This year I borrowed a copy from the library and read it as part of a personal book challenge I'm doing.
The story is a simple one. Rev. Kumalo receives a letter from a Theophilus Msimangu in Johannesburg, asking him to come because his sister Gertrude is there and is sick. Kumalo goes, with his wife's blessing and with all their small savings. He goes because their son Absalom also went to Johannesburg and never came back. Johannesburg is a terrible place where Zulus have gone in their thousands and have lost everything that made them part of a cohesive community.
We only have to know a little history to know what kind of things Kumalo found. But he also finds some amazing people with great depths of compassion and a compelling desire to help all the people, black and white, to live lives of justice. Paton has a strong political message and a strong message of hope.
The most powerful thing about this book, however, is the beauty of the prose. I can say no more!...more
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