The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 9 (September 2018)
Welcome to the ninth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, we were privileged to…
Category: Africa
‘You have to write like a suicide bomber, you have to detonate’—Arundhati Roy discusses The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Arundhati Roy visited South Africa on a book tour recently, and sat down with The JRB to discuss her highly…
One of the most important works of non-fiction in South Africa’s democratic era—Richard Poplak reviews The Lost Boys of Bird Island
The story told in The Lost Boys of Bird Island warps South Africa’s history beyond the nightmares of colonialism and apartheid,…
Unsettling old assumptions about xenophobia—Read an excerpt from I Want to Go Home Forever: Stories of Becoming and Belonging in South Africa’s Great Metropolis
The JRB presents ‘On Patrol in the Dark City’, an excerpt from I Want to Go Home Forever: Stories of Becoming and…
A kaleidoscopic novel of radiant beauty—Bongani Kona reviews the new English translation of Ondjaki’s Transparent City
In Transparent City, Ondjaki writes Angola not as an insignificant place in the margins of history but as if it…
‘I want the reader to be an active participant, to work things out for themselves’—Craig Higginson chats about his new novel, The White Room
Craig Higginson’s sixth novel, The White Room, was published by Picador Africa in August. He chatted to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about…
‘Authors in the West don’t worry about whether Africa will understand them’—Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi discusses Kintu at Wits
Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi visited Wits University in August, for a discussion around her debut novel, Kintu. Kintu Jennifer…
New short fiction: ‘Looking for Simphiwe’ by Sifiso Mzobe
The JRB is proud to present a new short story by award-winning author Sifiso Mzobe. Mzobe was born and bred…
Of Fathers and Grandfathers—Read an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. House of…
New poetry by Kelwyn Sole: ‘The empty space we call Mandela’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Kelwyn Sole. The empty space we call Mandela On…
[City Editor] Tanzania and my Vagabond Neurosis—Niq Mhlongo contemplates his irresistible urge to travel
About five months ago a very close friend of mine invited me to his wedding. His big day was Saturday,…
Read an excerpt from Congolese–French author Wilfried N’sondé’s novel Un océan, deux mers, trois continents, winner of the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma
Un océan, deux mers, trois continents is the realisation of an idea I had forming in my mind for about…
[The JRB Daily] ‘When they tried to ban the book, this book exploded’—Jacques Pauw’s The President’s Keepers wins Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award
Image: Jacques Pauw (right) with Stephen Long of Nielsen Book group The President’s Keepers by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw has…
[The JRB Daily] ‘You can’t hide who you are when writing fiction’—Arundhati Roy considers the legacy of VS Naipaul
Indian writer Arundhati Roy, in South Africa on a book tour, sat down with The JRB to discuss her books…
[The JRB Daily] Remembering VS Naipaul in South Africa
VS Naipaul, who died aged eighty-five on Saturday, spent some months in South Africa in 2009, researching his final book….
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 8 (August 2018)
Welcome to the eighth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. We have a bumper edition for…
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and Panashe Chigumadzi in conversation—Meditations on the traumas and triumphs of Zimbabwe’s histories
‘History is created in the mouth …’ Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and The JRB Contributing Editor Panashe Chigumadzi both have new…
Nelson Mandela’s ‘new’ collection of prison dispatches signs his name across our hearts: Bongani Madondo reviews The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Torn for so long between anxiety and awe at the idolisation of Nelson Mandela, The JRB Contributing Editor Bongani Madondo…
‘Historical fiction is a way of fighting rootlessness’—Ayesha Harruna Attah discusses her new novel The Hundred Wells of Salaga
Ayesha Harruna Attah’s new novel, The Hundred Wells of Salaga, has just been published by Cassava Republic Press. She chatted…
How to eat a small child–Yemisi Aribisala considers the question of representation in books for children of colour and the legacy of Little Black Sambo
Yemisi Aribisala recalls her first encounter with Little Black Sambo, and asks: Who is responsible if the image of the…
Writing our Blackness into existence—Ntombizikhona Valela reviews Born to Kwaito by Esinako Ndabeni and Sihle Mthembu
Born to Kwaito: Reflections on the Kwaito Generation cranks up the volume of the unsung and barely documented soundtrack of ‘freedom’,…
‘We should wrench the power away from the West and determine our own canon’—Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi talks to CA Davids about her novel Kintu
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is in South Africa in August to discuss her lauded debut novel, Kintu. She spoke to CA…
[The JRB Exclusive] ‘The colonisers were right: the mbira is dangerous’—Read an excerpt from Panashe Chigumadzi’s new book These Bones Will Rise Again
Chigumadzi’s exploration of personal, family and national history reincarnates in stark, vivid images, many of those interred in the shadows…
A curiously enthralling existentialist novel—Wamuwi Mbao reviews OK, Mr Field, the debut novel by South African poet Katharine Kilalea
OK, Mr Field, the debut novel by acclaimed South African poet Katharine Kilalea, is a pleasingly minimalist, idiosyncratic novel, writes…
‘Language switching is the norm in Kenya; I just wrote the way we speak’—Makena Onjerika chats to The JRB about her Caine Prize success
2018 Caine Prize for African Writing winner Makena Onjerika chatted to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about her plans to…
The Durban Riots and an ‘ambitious re-examination’ of the relationship between Africans and Indians–Alex Lichtenstein reviews Jon Soske’s Internal Frontiers
By recentering the narrative on Durban and Natal, rather than Johannesburg and the Transvaal, Jon Soske modifies the established account…
[City Editor] Borders and books—Niq Mhlongo travels to Nairobi with ninety of his novels
Before I leave Johannesburg for Nairobi, Kenya, my friend and fellow author Zukiswa Wanner warns me not to bring more…
A place where paradox lives and breathes—Francine Simon reviews Chatsworth, Pravasan Pillay’s debut short story collection
Pravasan Pillay’s new collection of short stories, Chatsworth, is a literary necessity, writes Francine Simon. Chatsworth Pravasan Pillay Dye Hard…
Read an excerpt from Megan Ross’s debut poetry collection, Milk Fever
The JRB is proud to present a poem from Megan Ross’s new collection Milk Fever, published by Uhlanga Press. ~~~…
New short fiction: ‘Water Treason’ by Andile Ndlovu
The JRB presents an original short story by Andile Ndlovu. Water Treason Two jugs of water was all Bulelani’s mother…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Mohale Mashigo and Niq Mhlongo by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Don’t miss the ten-year retrospective…
[The JRB Exclusive] ‘What African Nationalism Is’—Read an excerpt from Africa’s Cause Must Triumph: The Collected Writings of AP Mda
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from Africa’s Cause Must Triumph: The Collected Writings of AP Mda. Africa’s Cause…
Seoul and Sky: JMG Le Clézio’s new novel, Bitna, sous le ciel de Séoul
2008 Nobel Prize-winning Franco-Mauritian author JMG Le Clézio has dipped his pen into the world of transnational literature again, but…
‘Kasala for Myself’—New jazz-suffused poetry from Fiston Mwanza Mujila featured in Asymptote, in English and French
In their Summer issue, Asymptote Journal features new poetry from Congolese author Fiston Mwanza Mujila. Eschewing the more chaotic and…
[The JRB Daily] Longlist announced for the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature—Africa’s richest literary award
The longlist for the 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature has been announced. The prize was founded in 2004, and is awarded…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Man Booker Prize longlist announced—no African authors for the second year running
The 2018 Man Booker Prize longlist has been announced, including a graphic novel for the first time. The £50,000 prize had…
[The JRB Daily] Masande Ntshanga, Omar Robert Hamilton, Anietie Isong and Kayo Chingonyi among the winners at the 2018 Society of Authors Authors’ Awards
Five African authors are among the winners of the 2018 Society of Authors Authors’ Awards. The awards distribute the United…
[The JRB Daily] Kenyan writer Makena Onjerika wins the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing
Kenyan writer Makena Onjerika has won the nineteenth edition of the Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 7 (July 2018)
Welcome to the seventh issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, we’re delighted to publish…
Emerging from Chinua Achebe’s shadow: Nigeria’s first generation of post-independence writers and the literary brotherhood of Umuahia
This July marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Chinua Achebe’s seminal novel Things Fall Apart. Lebohang Mojapelo reviews…