Litnet

"I consider it an invaluable guide to equip children with the right skill sets, attitudes and world views to enable them to identify future opportunities and thrive, no matter what tomorrow may or may not hold."

This biography does not only investigate Kirsch’s role as Afrikaans Jewish poet but also examines her as an example of a cross-cultural, multi-lingual immigrant poet. 

Brent Meersman’s memoir of a humble yet eccentric upbringing in a Milnerton, Cape Town, flat in the 1970’s and 1980’s reads as a stirring eulogy to his schizophrenic mother, yet also as a vivid snapshot in time.

"No. I don’t think we are ever going to go back to the 'unconscious normal' we were in just a few weeks ago. I think that after lockdown, the world and South Africa will, in many ways, be in pieces; in many ways, the systems we knew will be broken, and we will all have to readjust and start again."

"This precious guide is said to make a thoughtful and wonderful gift to professional entomologists, gardeners and nature enthusiasts alike."

"To my delight, I found Boel a patient and eloquent coach, and his writing clear, to the point and interlaced with examples I could understand and relate to."

"There is an art in finding and lifting the real story from the day-to-day facts. Dolley may not quite be there yet, but she's certainly on her way."

"The individual contributions focus on a fascinating and relevant selection of primary sources, mostly novels and short stories, reaching as far back as Sol Plaatje’s Mhudi (1930) and incorporating contemporary texts into the diverse readings of the South African literary canon."

Are your children stuck at home and do they have too much screen time? LitNet asked a few publishers for suggestions on what young children can read during this time. Here are the books that Penguin Random House suggested. The kids will enjoy reading and also realise that it's a privilege to have a home in which they can be trapped during this strange period. 

"She is a woman and a writer, but doesn’t write women’s fiction."

"My overall feeling towards the novel is exactly what you would expect: just not my cup of tea."

"Bekker has a fascinating voice and she is not afraid to experiment with the short form."

The launch of Of Motherhood and Melancholia by Lou-Marié Kruger took place on Thursday 27 February 2020 at The Book Lounge in Cape Town. Pierre de Vos was in conversation with Lou-Marié.

"This small gem of a novel, published in 2018, is its Zimbabwean author’s first."

This tween-ness complicates and perplexes. It threatens key conceptions we have about the histories, identities, and cultures of those who live on the continent.

"Van Onselen’s exposition of the night trains on the Eastern Main Line offers a clear and focused view of the circumstances surrounding the Mineral Revolution in South Africa."

You are invited to the launch of To the volcano and other stories by Elleke Boehmer in Stellenbosch on 4 March.

Nelson Mandela was scheduled for a medical operation, but all hell broke loose.

The first major exhibition of papers and artefacts from the JM Coetzee archives opened on the evening of 9 February to honour Coetzee on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Here is a photo gallery of the event.

“I think there are still many narratives that portray adoption in a very positive light, where the child is somehow saved by the parent, or, in this country, the black child is saved by the white parent.”