Book recommendations from your favourite authors
Book recommendations from Sue Nyathi, Phumlani Pikoli, Craig Higginson, Fiona Snyckers and Gaongalelwe Tiro.
In these uncertain and difficult times, more people are turning to reading for comfort, inspiration and escapism. We asked our local authors to share their reading list filled with books they've read and enjoyed. Full of insightful, poignant and reflective books, this list has something for everyone. Not only is this inspirational but it is also a great way to get to know your favourite authors better. And to get a glimpse into their book shelves, bedside tables and reading taste.
Sue was born and raised in Bulawayo and resides in Johannesburg. Her debut novel, The Polygamist, was published in 2012. The GoldDiggers was first published in 2018, receiving much acclaim from readers and critics alike (now longlisted for the 2020 International Dublin Literary Award).
- Sarah Ladipo Manyika - In Dependence
- Hassan Ghedi Santur - The Youth of God
- Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu - The Theory of Flight
- Kurt Ellis - In the Midst of Wolves
Phumlani Pikoli, Born Freeloaders
A multi-disciplinary artist whose writing has been described as ‘a generational ode’. Phumlani's novel, Born Freeloader is a must-read!
- Saul Bellows - Humboldt’s Gift
- Ralph Ellison - The Invisible Man
- Angela Makholwa - Black Widow
- Ivan Vladislavic - Double Negative
Craig Higginson, The White Room
Craig is an internationally acclaimed playwright and novelist. His plays have been performed and produced in many theatres and festivals around the world. His novels include Last Summer, The Landscape Painter, The Dream House and The White Room. The Dream House is the IEB English matric setwork for South African schools (2019–2021). His latest novel, The Book of Gifts is available online and in-stores.
- Sally Rooney - Normal People
- Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
- Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer
- Ian McEwan - Machines Like Me
Author of the Trinity series of young adult novels, the Eulalie Park series of mystery novels, and two high-concept thrillers, Now Following You and Spire. Fiona Snyckers' Lacuna, has recently been announced the winner of 2020 National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences Award in the Fiction - Best Novel category.
- Gail Schimmel – The Accident
- Lauri Kubuitsile - But Deliver Us From Evil
- Edited by Zukiswa Wanner - Water Birds on the Lakeshore
- Karen Jennings - Upturned Earth
Gaongalelwe Tiro, Parcel of Death: The Biography of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro
Parcel of Death recounts the little-told life story of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro, the first South African freedom fighter the apartheid regime pursued beyond the country’s borders to assassinate with a parcel bomb. Gaongalelwe Tiro is a communication professional. He has extensive journalism experience, including stints with international wire agency. Tiro was born and raised in the township of Temba, near Hammanskraal. Onkgopotse Abram Tiro was his (paternal) uncle.
- Robert Trent Vinson - The Americans Are Coming!: Dreams of African American Liberation in Segregationist South Africa
- Cedric Robinson - Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition
- Ndumiso Dladla - Here is a Table: A Philosophical Essay on the History of Race in South Africa
- Colson Whitehead - The Underground Railroad
If you’re looking for more inspiration and books to read, click HERE.
Born Freeloaders
by Phumlani Pikoli
A captivating tale of privilege, identity, and the bitter fruits of freedom in post-apartheid South Africa.
Born on the cusp of democracy, the crew of young friends in Born Freeloaders navigates a life of drinking, wild parties and reckless abandon. Nthabiseng and Xolani, siblings raised in an upper middle-class family with political elite connections, find themselves grappling with identity and acceptance in a fractured society. As Nthabiseng whimsically goes through life, unable to pick a side in the classifications of race, Xolani longs for approval from an uncle who sees their generation as the consequence of a hard-fought freedom.
Set over a weekend in the nation's capital, Born Freeloaders captures a pivotal political and cultural moment in the city's and South Africa's history, deftly interweaving an analogous tale of the country's colonization and its repercussions. Amidst their uneasy awareness of privilege, the friends confront the discomfort of being unable to change the world they inherited. Winner of the K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award in 2020, Phumlani Pikoli's compelling debut novel offers a thought-provoking exploration of a generation born into a complex legacy.
The White Room
by Craig Higginson
South African playwright Hannah Meade arrives in London for the opening night of her new play. She has arranged to meet Pierre, the student she was in love with when she taught English in Paris. During their time together, they lied their way towards truths they were too young and inexperienced to endure. Perhaps this time they will have a second chance.
As the reader is drawn from contemporary London back to Paris on the eve of the war in Iraq, the mystery of past events is brought to vivid life in a series of dramatic, intriguing and deeply moving encounters. Written in layered, stark prose, The White Room lays bare many of our assumptions about language, identity, memory, loss and love.
Lacuna
by Fiona Snyckers
Lucy Lurie is deeply sunk in PTSD following a gang rape at her father’s farmhouse in the Western Cape. She becomes obsessed with the author John Coetzee, who has made a name for himself by writing Disgrace, a celebrated novel that revolves around the attack on her. Lucy lives the life of a celibate hermit, making periodic forays into the outside world in her attempts to find and confront Coetzee.
The Lucy of Coetzee’s fictional imaginings is a passive, peaceful creature, almost entirely lacking in agency. She is the lacuna in Coetzee’s novel – the missing piece of the puzzle.
Lucy Lurie is no one’s lacuna. Her attempts to claw back her life, her voice and her agency may be messy and misguided, but she won’t be silenced. Her rape is not a metaphor. This is her story.