One of my favourite discoveries of the last year was Cape Town Silent Book Club, and when they had a Giveaway, of The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Non-Fiction, I was thrilled to be a lucky winner.
The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Non-Fiction
This is a collection of over thirty essays, written by the “best of the rest” journalists, trying to make sense of the changes happening in a post-apartheid South Africa.
If you have even the slightest political inclination, and a curiosity to know more than is published in mainstream media then this book will intrigue you. What goes on behind the scenes in a country like ours? Answers to questions, that you didn’t realise you wanted answered, are revealed. This is a great cross section from gangsters, to pop stars, from historical moments, to everyday living, from stick-fighting to mermaids: Why was the Tygerberg Zoo closed down? Who are the Zam.a Zam.a? What do you mean by land rights? The list goes on and on.
These articles are written by investigative journalists, who are not necessarily chasing deadlines, but rather pursuing answers. The articles are all unique and provide a deeper insight to the South African Scene. A crisp and bold alternative interpretation of life in South Africa. It is gritty reading in “article” sized chunks. Thought provoking and topic by topic, you could have some very different opinions on topics you thought you had understood well. This is excellent and essential reading and a perfectly giftable book for the politically curious and the activist in your family.
This book is disturbing in many places, it is triggering, but it is also eye-opening. It is a dipper, don’t even try and read it all at once, the heaviness in places requires some processing before going onto the next article. I liked the truth of it, I enjoyed learning through it, it is a definite conversation starter. This is an important book… it needs to be read!!!