I ‘ve had a few requests from readers to link this blog to some of my reviews, on Goodreads, of various books. Hence this article.
There’s nothing consistent about my various reviews of books. They reflect an eclectic range of genres, styles, and contexts: whatever happens to capture my attention from time to time. While I have a particular passion for international crime fiction on the one hand, and for South African prose on the other, from time to time I find myself engrossed in something entirely different. For example, not too long ago I found myself reading a very good re-visioning of the Portuguese ‘Voyages of Discovery’ for which I had such a passion in high school. The book reminded me of the ideological fervour with which the significance of those voyages was drummed into innocent fifteen-year old minds by teachers who accepted without question a narrative built on certain imperatives of colonial conquest. I shall probably review the book in time and reflect – hopefully with humility – some of the re-education I experienced in reading it.
But that is for later. For now, I’ll add to the earlier reviews this link to my recent comments about Jeremiah Mofokeng wa Makhetha’s I Am A Man: a memoir. The book is a literate and brutally honest interrogation by the author of his journey through life, career and identity. It is written with humour and deep affection by a man who has achieved enormous heights in the world of stage, film and television. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Mamotladi Matloga’s Madness in Duggart, a rich tapestry of life in an African village, I thought was perceptive, unsentimental, and illustrative of some profound insights into aspects of mental health in relation to political context. Also on an African theme, I thought Sarah Key’s debut novel Tangled Weeds entirely original and compelling and suggested that it would grip the imagination of ‘anyone interested in exploring a richly-textured new vision of southern Africa’s tangled weeds and the potential for disentanglement.’ Prior to that I reviewed Heinrich Böhmke’s Sarie, thinking long and hard before writing my sentence describing it as ‘one of the most intelligent and robustly entertaining pieces of post-1994 South African fiction I have read’ and then offering some (hopefully helpful) criticisms of it. In an entirely different genre I enthused about Humphrey Carpenter’s J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography which I found to be, among other things, a ‘thought-provoking perspective on the various roles and responsibilities of the author in the writing of fiction.’ Before that, again in a completely different field, I enthused about Neil Sheehan’s A Bright, Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam – because I have long had a passion for not only military history but the sociological and political tentacles that weave their way into our understanding of geo-political events. In Sheehan’s book, particularly, I found his narrative to be ‘epic in its proportions, dramatic in its consequences, and lyrical in its delicate depiction of distraught and confused human beings who are struggling day by day to find wisdom and understanding in a world of tragic conflict.’
These are a few of the books I have found compelling and to which I have reacted positively and affirmatively. There are many more that I have read and a few more that I have reviewed. In some cases, where I have felt less enthusiastic, I have written privately to authors in response to their requests and offered some critical suggestions, all graciously received. We’re sensitive creatures, we writers: some critical suggestions are best offered privately. In my own case, I am enormously grateful to my own beta readers, friends, and readers who have offered sensitive and carefully-considered constructive criticism (if you will pardon the unintended alliteration of those words).
Thanks, everyone. I greatly appreciate your comments.
Very nice reviews. Very literate, too! Thanks.
These are very good reviews, thanks so much. It’s good to see someone take the time to do considered reviews on Goodreads. Too many are just quick comments. Goodreads should be a platform for in-depth reviews, and you sure deliver.
Nice reviews you’ve written. I’m afraid my own review of your book Gun Dealing is not as thoughtful, but I liked it, anyway. I’ll read your other stuff too, now.
This is very helpful. I like these review, too. I feel bad, now, that my own review of your book Devil Dealing was so cursory (but as I said in my review, I loved it, anyway!) I’ll read more of your books.
Thanks, Beatrice. ANY review is welcome, however brief, so thank you.
Great reviews. Thanks for this link.