The myth of transcendence—Zanta Nkumane reviews Ocean Vuong’s new novel The Emperor of Gladness
Zanta Nkumane reviews Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness, a novel not intent on building a new national myth, but…
Category: Fiction
‘A superb, cleansing ending’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Antjie Krog’s autobiographical novel Blood’s Inner Rhyme
Wamuwi Mbao reviews Blood’s Inner Rhyme by Antjie Krog, a book preoccupied with a lifelong, struggling conversation between a mother…
‘Without the right words, one has failed, which is a devastating feeling’—Jennifer Malec chats to Karen Jennings about her latest novel, Crooked Seeds
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec chats to Karen Jennings about her new novel, Crooked Seeds, and making your reader’s skin crawl….
‘This was the last thing she needed, and yet …’—Read an excerpt from Elleke Boehmer’s new novel, Ice Shock
The JRB presents an excerpt from Ice Shock, the new novel by Elleke Boehmer. Ice ShockElleke BoehmerKaravan Press, 2025 HERE 2010–2011…
‘Friendship has splendours that love knows not’—Read an excerpt from a new edition of Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter
The JRB presents an excerpt from So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ, part of Apollo Africa’s new collection of…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, 1938—2025, RIP
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, literary giant and cultural revolutionary, died on 28 May, 2025, aged eighty-seven. Ngũgĩ was one of Africa’s…
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,…
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…
‘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…
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…
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…
‘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,…
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 …
‘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…
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 ‘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…
Grab whatever warm slice of life you can before it turns on you—Read an excerpt from Nthato Mokgata’s debut novel Ghost in the Drum
The JRB presents an excerpt from Ghost in the Drum, the debut novel by Nthato Mokgata aka Spoek Mathambo. Ghost…
‘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….
‘I don’t go home for the funeral. Except, perhaps I do …’ Read an excerpt from Anna Stroud’s debut novel Who Looks Inside
The JRB presents an excerpt from Who Looks Inside, the debut novel by Anna Stroud. Who Looks InsideAnna StroudKaravan Press,…
Ambiguous utopias—Hedley Twidle salutes Ursula K Le Guin’s The Dispossessed on its 50th anniversary
Ursula K Le Guin’s masterpiece was published fifty years ago this year. In a literary outtake from his most recent…
[The JRB Daily] Samantha Harvey wins the 2024 Booker Prize for her ‘compact yet beautifully expansive’ novel Orbital
Header image: Courtesy of the Booker Prize British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital….
[The JRB Daily] Jonny Steinberg and Andrew Brown win the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards
The winners of the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced. Jonny Steinberg won the Sunday Times Non-fiction Award…
An elegant study of friendship amid the rootedness of political exile—Shayera Dark reviews Hisham Matar’s novel My Friends
In My Friends, Hisham Matar hones in on the push and pull of friendships, their guiding light and the cushion-like…
‘The readers are there, but we’re still figuring out the right distribution model to reach them’—Nozizwe Cynthia Jele introduces her new isiZulu-focused publisher, Happiness Books
Author Nozizwe Cynthia Jele has recently launched a publishing company, Happiness Books, which will specialise in books written in isiZulu. …
‘I do not recall reading many novels that linger so pornographically over the matter of eating’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Butter is keenly attuned to the many ways the private sphere runs on the disproportionate work of women while deliberately…
The treachery and tenacity of fraternal devotion—Jennifer Malec reviews Sally Rooney’s new novel, Intermezzo
In Intermezzo, sexual tension and spiky wit give way to a deeper sense of tenderness and a lighter brand of…
[Sponsored] ‘The story started bending genres by itself’—Find out more about Charl-Pierre Naude’s new novel The Equality of Shadows
Charl-Pierre Naudé’s genre-bending new novel, The Equality of Shadows, is out now from Picador Africa. Naudé is a poet and…
‘I was fascinated by the idea of women existing beyond the confines of the patriarchy and colonialism’—An interview with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu on The Creation of Half-Broken People
Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu chats to JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about her new novel, The Creation of Half-Broken People. The Creation of Half-Broken…
‘Those few strands of barbed wire fence stood between her and her children, her home, her husband and her country’—Read an excerpt from the new edition of Lauretta Ngcobo’s Cross of Gold
The JRB presents an excerpt from a new edition of Lauretta Ngcobo’s seminal novel Cross of Gold. Cross of GoldLauretta…
Read an excerpt from Sesizophila Ngale Ndlela, the new isiZulu translation of Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s acclaimed novel The Ones with Purpose
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sesizophila Ngale Ndlela, a new isiZulu translation of Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s novel The Ones…
‘He cut himself from his country. He had been so proud. But he was damaged by the loss’—Read an excerpt from Lying Perfectly Still by the late Laura Fish
The JRB presents an excerpt from Lying Perfectly Still by Laura Fish, who passed away shortly before her novel’s publication….
[The JRB Daily] 2024 South African Literary Awards shortlists announced—‘reflecting the dynamic and evolving literary scene’
The shortlists for the 2024 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the wRite…
[The JRB Daily] South Korean author Han Kang receives the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to fifty-three-year-old South Korean novelist Han Kang. Han, whose works include The Vegetarian,…
[The JRB Daily] Morabo Morojele and Jarred Thompson win 2024 UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English for ‘masterful’ and ‘extraordinarily original’ novels
Morabo Morojele and Jarred Thompson have been announced as the winners of the 2024 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South…
[The JRB Daily] ‘The fault lines of our times are here’—2024 Booker Prize shortlist announced
The 2024 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, offering ‘a diversity of perspective, style and subject matter’. First awarded in…