Category: Book excerpts

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Academic

Poetic translation and transnational Cold War cultural exchange—read an excerpt from Simon van Schalkwyk’s new book Robert Lowell’s Imitations and the Cold War

Simon van SchalkwykLeave a Comment on Poetic translation and transnational Cold War cultural exchange—read an excerpt from Simon van Schalkwyk’s new book Robert Lowell’s Imitations and the Cold War

The JRB presents an excerpt from Robert Lowell’s Imitations and the Cold War: Containment, Leakage, Anarchy, the new book by…

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Academic

‘His father was also a traveller, indeed a determined one’—Read an excerpt from Khumisho Moguerane’s Sunday Times Literary Award-winning biography Morafe

The JRBLeave a Comment on ‘His father was also a traveller, indeed a determined one’—Read an excerpt from Khumisho Moguerane’s Sunday Times Literary Award-winning biography Morafe

The JRB presents an excerpt from Morafe: Person, Family and Nation in Colonial Bechuanaland, 1880s–1950s by Khumisho Moguerane, winner of…

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Africa

‘Little by little, he makes out the forms of things’—Read an excerpt from Wilderness of Mirrors, the debut novel by Caine Prize-winning writer Olufemi Terry

The JRBLeave a Comment on ‘Little by little, he makes out the forms of things’—Read an excerpt from Wilderness of Mirrors, the debut novel by Caine Prize-winning writer Olufemi Terry

The JRB presents an excerpt from Olufemi Terry’s debut novel, Wilderness of Mirrors. Wilderness of MirrorsOlufemi TerryLes Fugitives (UK), March…

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Academic

‘Violence would be part of Johannesburg’s lingua franca from the outset’—Read an excerpt from Deborah Posel’s personal journey through forgotten history, Darker Shade of Pale

The JRBLeave a Comment on ‘Violence would be part of Johannesburg’s lingua franca from the outset’—Read an excerpt from Deborah Posel’s personal journey through forgotten history, Darker Shade of Pale

The JRB presents an excerpt from Darker Shade of Pale: Shtetl to Colony by Deborah Posel. Darker Shade of Pale:…

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Africa

‘Did you know that a head does bounce like a football?’ Read an excerpt from Shine Your Eye: In Search of West Africa by Adéwálé Májà-Pearce

The JRBLeave a Comment on ‘Did you know that a head does bounce like a football?’ Read an excerpt from Shine Your Eye: In Search of West Africa by Adéwálé Májà-Pearce

The JRB presents an excerpt from Adéwálé Májà-Pearce’s forthcoming book Shine Your Eye: In Search of West Africa. Adéwálé Májà-PearceShine…

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Academic

The impacts of women before, during and after coups—Read an excerpt from Blessing-Miles Tendi’s new book The Overthrow of Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coups, and Diplomats

The JRBLeave a Comment on The impacts of women before, during and after coups—Read an excerpt from Blessing-Miles Tendi’s new book The Overthrow of Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coups, and Diplomats

The JRB presents an excerpt from The Overthrow of Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coups, and Diplomats by Blessing-Miles Tendi. The Overthrow…

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Academic

‘An attempt to win back knowledge, even wisdom, from a world deluged by information’—Read an excerpt from The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Nonfiction

Hedley TwidleLeave a Comment on ‘An attempt to win back knowledge, even wisdom, from a world deluged by information’—Read an excerpt from The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Nonfiction

The JRB presents editor Hedley Twidle’s Introduction to The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Nonfiction. The Interpreters: South Africa’s New NonfictionEdited…

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Biography & Memoir

‘My ultimate overpacked beach bite has to be a pilchard sandwich’—Read an excerpt from Pravasan Pillay’s offbeat new food memoir Curry and Bread

The JRB1 Comment on ‘My ultimate overpacked beach bite has to be a pilchard sandwich’—Read an excerpt from Pravasan Pillay’s offbeat new food memoir Curry and Bread

The JRB presents an excerpt from Curry and Bread, Pravasan Pillay’s new memoir.  Curry and BreadPravasan PillayDye Hard Press, 2025…

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Academic

Joburg’s biggest river, and its most charismatic (for better or worse)—Read an excerpt from Johannesburg from the Riverbanks: Navigating the Jukskei

The JRBLeave a Comment on Joburg’s biggest river, and its most charismatic (for better or worse)—Read an excerpt from Johannesburg from the Riverbanks: Navigating the Jukskei

The JRB presents an excerpt from Johannesburg from the Riverbanks: Navigating the Jukskei, edited by Mehita Iqani and Renugan Raidoo….

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Academic

‘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 JRBLeave a Comment on ‘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…

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Academic

‘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

Christa KuljianLeave a Comment on ‘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…

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Book excerpts

‘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 JRBLeave a Comment on ‘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…

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Academic

‘Africans are free only to the extent of breathing’—Read an excerpt from An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity: Conversations with Toyin Falola by Sanya Osha

Sanya OshaLeave a Comment on ‘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…

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Academic

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 JRBLeave a Comment on 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…

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Africa

‘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

Mandla LangaLeave a Comment on ‘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…

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Book excerpts

‘My pilgrimage to Durban was written before I was born’—Read an excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s forthcoming debut novel Outside Women

Roohi ChoudhryLeave a Comment on ‘My pilgrimage to Durban was written before I was born’—Read an excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s forthcoming debut novel Outside Women

The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s debut novel Outside Women, which will be published in March 2025….

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Book excerpts

Taking Guard in Inner-city Johannesburg—Read an excerpt from Niren Tolsi’s new book Writing Around the Wicket: Race, Class and History in South African Cricket

Niren TolsiLeave a Comment on Taking Guard in Inner-city Johannesburg—Read an excerpt from Niren Tolsi’s new book Writing Around the Wicket: Race, Class and History in South African Cricket

The JRB presents an excerpt from Writing Around the Wicket: Race, Class and History in South African Cricket by Niren…

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Academic

‘In Africa, the conservative realism of the military mind met the liberatory spirit of the decolonising mind’—Read an excerpt from Soldier’s Paradise by Samuel Fury Childs Daly

The JRB2 Comments on ‘In Africa, the conservative realism of the military mind met the liberatory spirit of the decolonising mind’—Read an excerpt from Soldier’s Paradise by Samuel Fury Childs Daly

The JRB presents an excerpt from Samuel Fury Childs Daly’s new book, Soldier’s Paradise: Militarism in Africa After Empire.  Soldier′s…