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MAY RECOMMENDS

NON-FICTION

Like Sodium in Water, by Hayden Eastwood (R290)
This story of a childhood spent in Harare has all the elements we’ve come to expect from the classic Zimbabwean memoir - wild and feral children, too much drinking, a constant sense of things unravelling on both the personal and political fronts. Hayden Eastwood’s account of growing up with his fierce, intellectual father, his meek, depressed mother, and Dan, his brother and best friend, is a gripping, heart-rending and beautifully written tale. Highly personal, it’s a devastating coming-of-age story and despite the grim events, it’s an unputdownable read.
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The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy, by Bhekisisa Mncube (R230)
Funny, charming and captivating, this memoir of interracial love is a heart-warming story of an unconventional love affair. Zulu boy, Bhekisisa Mncube, escapes the suffocating small-town vibes of his village for bigger things in Durban. He finds himself moving in with a white academic, who he refers to only as Professor D. True love follows, and we are entertained and charmed by the cultural hoops through which he has to jump to win approval on both sides.
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FICTION
Michael K: A novel, by Nthikeng Mohlele (R220)
Nthikeng Mohlele has never shied away from the challenges of serious, literary fiction, and here, he holds up a mirror to Michael K, the bewildered, fragile character of JM Coetzee’s classic, The Life and Times of Michael K. Glorious, literary indulgence.

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When I Hit You, Meena Kandasamy (R250)
Short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018 (to be announced 6 June), this is a tough read, beautifully written and courageous, but not for the faint-hearted. The story is set in India where a young woman, caught in the hook of love, marries a dashing professor. But the perfect husband turns out to be a perfect monster, and fighting back will either kill her or set her free. Based on the author’s own experience of an abusive marriage.
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POETRY

Loud and Yellow Laughter, by Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese (R100)
‘Dad, after all these years, I still roll
an orange under my foot in order
to loosen the skin for easy peeling,
you taught me that as a child.’
Winner of the 2018 Ingrid Jonker Prize.

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CHILDREN

Flamingo Boy, by Michael Morpurgo (R240)
The great Michael Morpurgo brings us his latest story set in the Second World War. With the unique landscape of the Camargue, France, as the backdrop, it’s the story of a boy, his beloved flamingos and a carousel, all of which are threatened by the arrival of German soldiers. 10-12

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