Boekresensie: Op soek na Generaal Mannetjies Mentz

Ek is Christoffel Coetzee se roman Op soek na Generaal Mannetjies Mentz deur ‘n vriendin geleen, en het dit werklik treffend ervaar.

Mannetjies Mentz vind tydens die Anglo-Boer Oorlog plaas, en vertel die verhaal van ‘n veggeneraal, Mannetjies Mentz. Desnieteenstaande dat Mentz fiktief is, word die verhaal aangebied asof dit navorsing is oor ‘n egte geskiedkundige figuur, en as sodanig is dit baie oortuigend. Waar daar na ander bekendes en gebeure verwys word, is dit duidelik dat hulle geskiedenis wel deeglik nagevors is.

Dit is steeds vir my lekker om boeke te lees wat my iets leer oor die land se geskiedenis, en hierdie is beslis só ‘n boek. Dit is by tye nogal grusaam (soos hierdie tydperk maar was), maar is absoluut uitstekend geskryf.

Die skrywer is ongelukkig oorlede kort na hy dié boek geskryf het, en het gevolglik geen ander nie – ‘n ware verlies vir die letterkunde. Ek kan Op soek na Generaal Mannetjies Mentz ten sterkste aanbeveel.

Book Review: Youth

I have, of course, known about JM Coetzee’s novels for quite some time (Disgrace is still waiting on my shelf), but even so I didn’t really know what to expect from Youth.

This semi-autobiographical novel is written from the perspective of a young South African in the 1960s who moves to London after finishing his degree in Cape Town.

While being excellently written, I found the uncertainty and agonising of the main character somewhat frustrating to read; more so because the book is written as a first-person stream-of-consciousness. In all I found it rather reminiscent of JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, and frustrating for the same reasons (although even this frustration must attest to the quality of the writing).

I look forward to reading more of Coetzee’s works.

Book Review: Unseen Academicals

Terry Pratchett is probably my favourite author, and it is always with great enthusiasm that I read new Discworld novels. The latest, Unseen Academicals, was no exception to this.

As most of Pratchett’s novels, Unseen Academicals takes an aspect of our own society, in this case football, and allows us to gain a new perspective on it by placing it into a mildly fantastical and fairly bizarre setting.

The writing is, as always, excellent and the characters witty, well-thought out and entertaining.

Pratchett is an expert at writing books that are enjoyable and easy to read, but still leave you with some complicated philosophy and a new perspective on the world.

Book Review: Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams: The Story of Green & Black’s is the autobiographical account of the two founders of Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate, and goes from its founding to its purchase by Cadbury’s as a globally recognised brand.

I found this book an absolute pleasure to read. Not only does it give interesting information about chocolate, its creation and history, but it is also very inspiring as an entrepreneurial story.

Added to this is the fact that the book itself is written in an incredibly warm, open and enjoyable way.

An excellent read. My only complaint is that after reading it I suffered from an intense craving for Green & Black’s chocolate and, to my frustration, could not find it in a shop.

Book Review: Grimus

Grimus is the first novel written by Salman Rudshie (better known for Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses).

Falling somewhere between Fantasy and Sci-Fi, this rather philosophical novel investigates the consequences if people are offered immortality and accept.

The plot is somewhat obscure and does not flow in a clear, logical fashion (a complaint I have with many books in these genres).

Rushdie’s writing, however, is exquisite. There are many allusions to other literary and philosophical works, and his characters are well-developed and interesting.

In spite of the somewhat immature plot, there is incredible potential visible in Grimus and I eagerly look forward to reading some of Rushdie’s better known works in the future.

Book Review: Kidnapped

After Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped is probably Robert Louis Stevenson’s best-known novel. I greatly enjoyed Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, so I was rather looking forward to this book.

As a historical novel set in Scotland in the 1750’s, however, I found it rather difficult to read. There is a great deal of context and socio-political background I am completely unaware of, and that I suspect is needed to fully appreciate this work.

This is further complicated by the considerable use of Scots English in the dialogue – while not unintelligible, it does require somewhat more effort of the reader than the average novel.

I wouldn’t recommend this for a light or easy read, and suspect its fans will be limited to history buffs.

Book Review: Cry, The Beloved Country

Alan Paton’s Cry, The Beloved Country is one of those novels that I’ve known about for ever, but never managed to read. Given my recent spate of reading South African historical novels, I thought it would be appropriate to tackle it.

Superficially it tells the story of a poor rural black parson who goes to Johannesburg in search of his son. At a more fundamental level, however, I found it reminiscent of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart – the decline of a tribal society in the face of Western culture, and the void left behind because no one creates new social structures to replace it.

The prose is excellent, and even with my rather poor Xhosa I could pick up that the style of dialogue and, where following the Zulu parson, the text strongly echo the manner in which Nguni languages like Xhosa and Zulu function.  There is also lovely use of metaphor: the writing is rich with imagery.

It is easy to see why this relatively short novel has become a modern classic.

Digbundel: Staan in die algemeen nader aan vensters

Ek het oor die afgelope paar weke Loftus Marais se digbundel Staan in die algemeen nader aan vensters gelees.

Sy gedigte is van ‘n uitsonderlike gehalte, en daar is ‘n melodie en beeldskoonheid aan sy woorde wat dit baie aangenaam maak om te lees. Sy beelde is helder en dringend sonder om ongewone of onverstaanbare taal nodig te hê. Hy skryf ook vanuit ‘n perspektief na aan myne, en oor onderwerpe wat ek (tot ‘n meer of ‘n mindere mate) ken en verstaan.

Afrikaanse gedigte is vir my altyd ‘n plesier om te lees, en dit is nog meer so om die van ‘n jong, kontemporêre digter te lees.

Book review: The Language Instinct

Given my ongoing fascination with language and linguistics, when I saw Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct in our campus bookshop I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy it. It was truly an excellent purchase.

Pinker provides a eloquent, factual, well-researched and above all interesting overview of the current state of linguistics. He covers the full spectrum of topics, from universal grammar (a la Chomsky), phonetics and mental dictionaries to how we (particularly as children) learn language to how different languages developed to how the human brain handles language, and how this could have evolved.

This book was absolutely fascinating, and I have no doubt that anyone interesting in how and why language works would enjoy it immensely.

Book review: The Diving-Bell & the Butterfly

I bought The Diving-Bell & the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby in a charity store when I was in London, the title catching my eye because I was aware that a movie had been made of it (although I was unaware what it was about).

This brief book is the true autobiographical memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the previous editor-in-chief of French Elle that suffered a major stroke that left him fully conscious, but unable to move at all – a sufferer of what is known as locked-in syndrome. With time he recovered some minimal movement – this book was painstakingly dictated, letter-by-letter, by having the alphabet read to him, and him blinking when the desired letter was reached.

This book is not a story in the usual sense, but rather an incredibly lucid glimpse into what must certainly be one of the worst conditions a human being can suffer from. In spite of this difficulty, Bauby’s writing is elegant, beautiful and shows an amazing sense of internal calm and contentment.

“My cocoon becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly. There is so much to do. You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego or for King Midas’ court.

“You can visit the woman you love, slide down beside her and stroke her still-sleeping face. You can build castles in Spain, steal the Golden Fleece, discover Atlantis, realise your childhood dreams and adult ambitions.”