Tik is the name given to a certain drug (chrystal meth) in South Africa.Tikkop is the name of a user or addict, who uses Tik. The Dutch writer Adriaan van Dis (1946) has a long history with South Africa. During his study Dutch language, he spent a year (1973/4) at Stellenbosch University. He wrote books … Continue reading review TIKKOP
review CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF
Over the years there has been a steady stream of books on the life and times of the South African prisoner and politician Nelson Mandela. In this heavy book Mandela is conversing with himself. But do not forget that he is talking also with other people. During his lifetime he kept notes, not always on … Continue reading review CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF
review THE HOUSE GUN
During her long life the South African writer Nadine Gordimer has written many books, never shying away from her contemporary history in her divided country. She touched upon many relevant issues, and at the same time she never lost sight of ordinary people. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for her writing. This … Continue reading review THE HOUSE GUN
review SUNDOWNERS
As far as I could trace this is the debut novel by Lesley Lokko (Dundee, Scotland, 1964), a trained architect, who spend part of her childhood in Ghana, when she was 17 years young she went to a boarding school in the United Kingdom. After a lond career of studies and teaching positions at many … Continue reading review SUNDOWNERS
review CAPE TOWN COOLIE
The London-born writer Réshard Gool (1931 – ?) describes in this novel ‘Cape Town Coolie’ a vibrant community in Cape Town, at the southern most tip of South Africa. People from all different kinds of backgrounds and status in life and education mix freely and enjoy life and love. The novel is set in the … Continue reading review CAPE TOWN COOLIE
review THE ROOT IS ONE
The South African writer Sipho Sepamla (1932 – 2007) was born in a township near Krugersdorp. In his novel ‘The root is one’ he writes about the township Johnstown near Bergersdorp. So the topic is not far from his own roots. The local government of the white Bergersdorp has decided to flatten Johnstown. This location … Continue reading review THE ROOT IS ONE
books touched by Africa 