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SEPTEMBER MUST-READ

Good Cop Bad Cop, by Andrew Brown (R220)
This extremely personal memoir is an account of Andrew Brown’s experiences as a police reservist in the Western Cape. It’s an incredibly brave and thought-provoking read, full of insights into the realities of policing and the mostly unpalatable realities of our society. Brown takes centre stage as the intense and conflicted main character – describing everything from drug busts and gruesome murders, to a hilarious encounter with a tik-soaked intruder in his own home, and the poignant moment where he finds himself on one side and his children on the other during the FeesMustFall campaign. A gripping must-read. Now who’s going to play Brown in the mini-series?

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MORE MUST-READS

Eyes in the Night, by Nomavenda Methane (R280)
This is the incredible story of Nomavenda Mathiane’s grandmother, a woman who lived through the Anglo-Zulu war and witnessed first hand the destruction of the Zulu people. Forced to flee from her home in 1879 after the Battle of Isandlwana, she and her mother and sister hid from the British in caves, while around them, the Zulu people became a nation of vagrants in their own country. This is the story of our country, a story of dispossession, both physical, emotional and intellectual, the effects of which remain with us today. A remarkable rescuing of a buried story.

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Known and Strange Things, by Teju Cole (R305)
This is a remarkable collection of literary essays on everything from meeting a rather old VS Naipaul at a small literary dinner in a glittering Manhattan apartment ,to contemplations on our very own Ivan Vladislavic, Google photography, visiting the grave of Cole’s literary hero, WG Sebald, and short conversations about grief – ‘Grief is a frightening condition, and at its extreme is like the sun: impossible to look at directly.’ If you found Open City, for all its wonder, a slow and intense read, these shorter musings and learned observations are written with incredible richness and intelligence and make for easier, but just as deeply satisfying, reading.

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The Muse, by Jessie Burton (R285)
This is the story of a painting. Art, love, betrayal, family and the Spanish Civil War are the backdrop to the stories of Odelle Bastien and Marjorie Quick. When Caribbean immigrant Odelle starts her typist’s job at the Skelton Institute of Art in London, little does she know that the enigmatic Quick will have such an influence on her life. When a long-lost masterpiece appears in their offices, it’s the start of a journey that uncovers some unexpected truths about identity and ownership. Jessie Burton’s debut novel, The Miniaturist, was a millon-copy bestseller, and we are pretty sure The Muse is going to do great things too. Great book club fare.

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CHILDREN

The 65-Storey Treehouse, by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton (R152)
The latest in the treehouse series, which has an army of fans around the world. The series starts with The 13-Storey Treehouse and goes up in increments of 13, which means that this is the fifth book. We love it because it really gets children hooked on reading (and tests your maths!). If you have a reluctant reader, look no further.

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