A celebration of local talent, from debuts to returning names.
For historical fiction lovers, longtime journalist and author Penny Haw brings the story of Mary Leakey, famed paleoanthropologist, in Follow Me to Africa. It’s 1983 and a begrudging Grace accompanies her father to Tanzania for an archaeological dig. Here, Grace and Mary meet, and Grace is tasked to sort through 50 years’ worth of Mary’s work and memories. The women learn that they are more alike than they thought and discover a secret that connects them.
Who doesn’t love books about books? Paige Nick’s debut Book People is a savagely funny satire exploring online media and cancel culture. Norma’s book club loses the plot after an author’s very public (and very viral) meltdown leaves her, and her book club, at the centre of an attempted murder investigation. With more author outbursts, an unruly comment section and a book club member left in a coma, Norma tries her best to fix this mess.
Explore the rich imagination of African literature in Midnight at the Morgue and Other Stories, an anthology of short stories exploring family life and relationships, feminism, patriarchy, class and exploitation. There’s a narrative for everything in this anthology of Africa’s finest authors, featuring stories from Morabo Morejele, Sibongile Fisher and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing for 2024, Nadia Davids.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Onke Mazibuko returns with a paranoid thriller about a whistleblower pushed to the edge. Canary follows Maks Ntaka, an employee at Arms Tech Industries that has just discovered the company is embroiled in serious corruption. When his mentor implicates him, Maks has a target on his back as his life starts to unravel.
Local non-fiction features the triumphs of the top asset management firms in South Africa in The Mavericks by Stephen Cranston, Dr. Anne Biccard’s tales from the frontlines of a Johannesburg hospital’s emergency department in One Call Away and Milton Schorr’s powerful memoir Addict.
Though not local, crime fiction front-runner Harlan Coben makes a similar return with the nail-biting mystery Nobody’s Fool. Former detective Sam Kierce catches a glimpse of the past when teaching at a night school for amateur sleuths. Sam swears he sees the face of his college girlfriend Anna in the back row. Anna died 22 years ago. Sam must uncover the truth, come face-to-face with his past and solve the impossible mystery that continues to haunt him.
April’s selection of international non-fiction is centred around learning from past mistakes and growing as life continues to change. Learn from past mistakes in The Not-to-do List from Rolf Dobelli, find meaning anywhere in The Will to Meaning from bestseller Viktor E. Frankl, and teach yourself to communicate confidently with The Next Conversation by online sensation Jefferson Fisher. Take a page from Brianna Wiest’s latest book The Life that’s Waiting for doses of daily wisdom and insight in her latest collection of essays bound to help you get the life you’ve always dreamed of. As our Book of the Month, The Life that’s Waiting is a guide to embracing your strengths, following your dreams and embracing your true self.