The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 9, Issue 1 (March 2025)
Finuala Dowling • Hassana Moosa • Shayera Dark • Wamuwi Mbao • Sean Jacobs • Seitlhamo Thabo Motsapi • Sihle…
Blog
‘To read a collection this accomplished is to wonder anew at how poems are made’—Finuala Dowling reviews Ingrid de Kok’s Unleaving
Unleaving, Ingrid de Kok’s seventh collection of poetry, speaks of private grief, personal loss, ambiguity and hope, writes Finuala Dowling….
[Sponsored] Find out more about Mary Watson’s new novel The Cleaner (Plus: Listen to an excerpt!)
Mary Watson’s addictive, page-turning new thriller The Cleaner is out now from Penguin Random House SA! Watson is from South…
A profoundly beautiful exploration of what ageing means for those who lived in compact with racial separation—Wamuwi Mbao reviews God’s Waiting Room by Casey Golomski
What does it mean to want grace after such a thing as apartheid? What might it look like? God’s Waiting…
A sparkling reflection on friendship, women’s bodies and the vestiges of colonialism—Shayera Dark reviews Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new novel Dream Count
Through the characters in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dream Count, we see our own blind spots and our audacity to hope,…
[Sponsored] ‘Arrival in the Cape’—Read an excerpt from John Stewart’s new book Sir Herbert Baker: A Biography
Jonathan Ball Publishers has shared an excerpt from Sir Herbert Baker: A Biography by John Stewart. Stewart is an award…
Storytelling as a point of departure for resistance—Hassana Moosa reviews Isabella Hammad’s new novel Enter Ghost
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad is a powerful portrait of community resilience, recovery and hope in the face of overwhelming…
Omar Badsha: an ordinary South African whose struggles and triumphs offer insights into broader social movements—Sean Jacobs reviews Available Light by Daniel Magaziner
Available Light continues Daniel Magaziner’s significant work in shedding light on the lives of Black artists and intellectuals under apartheid,…
[Sponsored] New book alert! The Black Atlantic’s Triple Burden: Slavery, Colonialism and Reparations
The Black Atlantic’s Triple Burden: Slavery, Colonialism and Reparations, edited by Adekeye Adebajo, is out now from Jacana Media. The…
‘An incisive portrait of a society grappling with change’—Jennifer Malec reviews Iris Mwanza’s debut novel The Lions’ Den
The Lions’ Den by Iris Mwanza is a historical thriller that reaches into many different corners of its characters’ lives,…
‘Once Removed feels rare’—Kris Van der Bijl reviews David Mann’s debut short story collection
David Mann’s short story collection Once Removed is inventive, and in tune with what it means to be a young…
‘I realised a long time ago that not everyone appreciates expressive or creative honesty’—Sihle Ntuli interviews Seitlhamo Thabo Motsapi
Sihle Ntuli talks to Seitlhamo Thabo Motsapi about subverting language, the beauty of Black creativity, and his seminal poetry collection,…
Read ‘Sweet Meat’, new short fiction by Megan Ross
The JRB presents new short fiction by Megan Ross. Sweet Meat ‘Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing…
New poetry by Abigail George
The JRB presents previously unpublished poetry by Abigail George. ~~~ In a lonely city searching for Walt Whitman and Chris Abani (for…
New poetry by Seitlhamo Thabo Motsapi
The JRB presents previously unpublished poetry by Seitlhamo Thabo Motsapi. ~~~ ~~~ araifal we crossed the river this morning the camels had…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Makhosazana Xaba by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his portraits. View this…
Read William Kentridge’s essay ‘It Will Always Be You’, excerpted from Your History with Me: The Films of Penny Siopis, edited by Sarah Nuttall
The JRB presents an excerpt from Your History with Me: The Films of Penny Siopis, edited by Sarah Nuttall. Your…
‘The centre of my world is going to be where I say it is’—An interview with Ellah Wakatama on African publishing, excerpted from Imprint Africa
The JRB presents an interview with Ellah Wakatama, facilitated by Joel Cabrita, excerpted from Imprint Africa: Conversations with African Women…
Read ‘Too Long for Home’, new short fiction by Yanjanani L Banda, from the 2024 Caine Prize anthology Midnight in the Morgue
The JRB presents new short fiction by Yanjanani L Band, which emerged from the Caine Prize workshops, excerpted from the…
‘They began to see that science was not isolated from politics but shaped by it’—Read an excerpt from Our Science, Ourselves by Christa Kuljian
The JRB presents an excerpt from Christa Kuljian’s new book, Our Science, Ourselves: How Gender, Race, and Social Movements Shaped…
What would Fanon say? Read the Preface to Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing by Nigel C Gibson
The JRB presents an excerpt from Nigel C Gibson’s new book, Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing. Frantz Fanon: Combat BreathingNigel C…
‘Before they were grandmothers, they were young’—Read an excerpt from Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani’s Dinaane Debut Fiction Award-winning novel Buried in the Chest
The JRB presents an excerpt from Buried in the Chest by Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani, winner of the 2024 Dinaane Debut Fiction…
‘The gun pointed at my head is one of ours’—Read an excerpt from Onke Mazibuko’s new thriller Canary
The JRB presents an excerpt from Canary, the highly anticipated second novel from Onke Mazibuko. CanaryOnke MazibukoPenguin Random House SA,…
‘Africans are free only to the extent of breathing’—Read an excerpt from An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity: Conversations with Toyin Falola by Sanya Osha
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sanya Osha’s latest book An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity: Conversations with Toyin Falola. An Ethos…
Read ‘The Complexities of Intimacy for Black Middle-Class Women’, excerpted from Love in Jozi: The Black Middle Class, Love and Intimacy in Johannesburg
The JRB presents an excerpt from Love in Jozi: The Black Middle Class, Love and Intimacy in Johannesburg, edited by…
‘The self-publishing world is shaking off its stigmas and evolving’—Read an excerpt from the African Small Publishers Catalogue
The 2024 African Small Publishers Catalogue has been released by Modjaji Books. Read Jessie Cooper’s essay ‘Self-publishing: A Real Choice for…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 8, Issue 4 (December 2024)—the Stranger than Fiction Issue!
Yewande Omotoso • Mandla Langa • Karen Jennings • Simon van Schalkwyk • Masiyaleti Mbewe • Wamuwi Mbao • Werner…
Read ‘The Underwhelm of Bijou Benjamine’, an excerpt from a work in progress by Yewande Omotoso
The JRB presents an excerpt from a short fiction work in progress by Yewande Omotoso. The Underwhelm of Bijou Benjamine …
[Sponsored] New book alert! Find out more about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new novel Dream Count
A publishing event ten years in the making—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new novel Dream Count has been introduced! ‘Dream Count is serious and curious…
‘Even as I thought about my brothers, I felt this distance from them, from their spirits; they were abstract beings, as remote as characters in a dream’—An excerpt from a forthcoming novel by Mandla Langa
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Rupture, a forthcoming novel by EAP member Mandla Langa. ~~~ Since it was almost…
‘Come the first of December the chains will be broken for good’—Read an excerpt from a forthcoming novel by Karen Jennings
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The First of December, a forthcoming novel by Karen Jennings. ~~~ Of the…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Playground—the new emotionally charged novel by award-winning author Richard Powers
Penguin Random House SA has shared an extract from Playground by Richard Powers! Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, this powerful novel…
Read ‘Antlers’, new short fiction by Simon van Schalkwyk
The JRB presents new short fiction by Simon van Schalkwyk. Antlers Anyone who has visited Giant’s Castle will know the story…
Read ‘Father Father Void Father Void Void Father’, new creative non-fiction by Masiyaleti Mbewe
The JRB presents a new piece of creative non-fiction by Masiyaleti Mbewe. ~~~ Father Father Void Father Void Void Father …
[Sponsored] Cover reveal! Find out more about Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani’s award-winning debut novel Buried in the Chest
Jacana Media has shared the cover for Buried in the Chest, the Dinaane Award-winning novel by Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani, which will…
Read ‘Details’, new short fiction by Wamuwi Mbao
The JRB presents new short fiction by Wamuwi Mbao. ~~~ Details ~~~ Header image: Daniel Watson/Unsplash
Read ‘Die Voorkamer’, new short fiction by Werner Pretorius
The JRB presents new short fiction by Werner Pretorius. ~~~ Die Voorkamer We sat up in the big front room…
Read ‘Dog’s Life’, new short fiction by Niq Mhlongo
The JRB presents—exclusively and for the first time in English—a new short story by Niq Mhlongo. This story was first…
‘Poetry as an act of clairvoyance’—Finuala Dowling reviews Heart’s Hunger, a selection of poetry by Karen Press
To read Karen Press’s Heart’s Hunger is not just to know where we have come from, but to feel in…
‘Poetry has always been a way for me to process life’—Saaleha Idrees Bamjee in conversation with Makhosazana Xaba
This is the eighth in a series of long-form interviews by Patron Makhosazana Xaba to be hosted on The JRB,…