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
review CETTE AVEUGLANTE ABSENCE DE LUMIERE
In the North African country a coup took place in July 1971. A group of military men, officers and subalterns, attacked the Skhirat palace, where king Hassan II stays. The coup failed after many losses on both sides. Some of the subalterns were taken captive and taken into isolation and deprivation in Tazmamart. Tahar ben … Continue reading review CETTE AVEUGLANTE ABSENCE DE LUMIERE
review ‘N ANDER LAND
Let us travel in time and turn to the seventies in the nineteenth century. We find ourselves in Bloemfontein, the capital village of the Oranje Vrijstaat, in what is now South Africa. Bleomfontein is young settlement of about thirty years at that time. People from many places have descended on this place. People from Dutch … Continue reading review ‘N ANDER LAND
review HALF OF A YELLOW SUN
Red. Black. Green. And in the centre of the waving flag was the half of a yellow sun. The yellow sun is a token of the dawn that had arrived. A new time. A new challenge under the sun. The waving flag was the flag of the brand new country Biafra (1967-1970). A corner cut … Continue reading review HALF OF A YELLOW SUN
review السكرية, Al-Sukkariyya, SUGAR STREET
One of the famous works of the Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz was his Cairo Trilogy, set in the Egyptian capital. He did a great job writing these three books. In normal circumstances a reader would start with volume 1, move on to volume 2 and end with volume 3. Now I did follow another course. … Continue reading review السكرية, Al-Sukkariyya, SUGAR STREET
review IN THE COUNTRY OF MEN
In the year 2006 Hisham Matar published his debut novel In the country of men. This writer was born in New York (United States of America) when his father was a diplomat for the Libyan government. In later years he grew up in Tripoli and in Cairo. These last two cities feature in this novel. … Continue reading review IN THE COUNTRY OF MEN
