[Conversation Issue] A palate cleanser in JM Coetzee’s playful late style—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Pole and Other Stories
JM Coetzee’s late style has often been indifferently received, but The Pole is a beautifully elegant story, writes Wamuwi Mbao,…
Category: Fiction
[Conversation Issue] ‘I don’t want to tell my reader what to feel; I want to make them feel’—Tan Twan Eng chats to Jennifer Malec about his new novel The House of Doors
Tan Twan Eng’s third novel, The House of Doors, was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and has just been longlisted…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘I still take my bearings from the inner city’—Read an excerpt from Ivan Vladislavić’s forthcoming book The Near North
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Near North, the new book by Ivan Vladislavić, which will be published…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘In a single life here there is so much life’—Read an excerpt from Teju Cole’s new novel Tremor
The JRB presents an excerpt from Tremor, the new novel from Teju Cole. TremorTeju ColeFaber and Faber How is one…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘There’s No Hurry In Botswana’ by Masiyaleti Mbewe
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ There’s No Hurry In Botswana By Masiyaleti Mbewe The University of Gaborone’s main…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Centres of Gravity’ by Jarred Thompson
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Centres of Gravity By Jarred Thompson Poor robot … That’s what father said…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘A History of Phantoms’ by Wamuwi Mbao
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ A History of Phantoms By Wamuwi Mbao There comes a time and place…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Nightcrawler’ by Simon van Schalkwyk
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Nightcrawler By Simon van Schalkwyk I On weekends, I worked as a runner…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Bakang Goes to Sea’ by Franki Jenkins
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Bakang Goes to Sea By Franki Jenkins Nolwazi During Rhodes Must Fall every…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Do You Remember That Time We Saw the UFO Over Jansenville?’ by Werner Pretorius
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Do You Remember That Time We Saw the UFO Over Jansenville? By Werner…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Non Compliant’ by Duane Jethro
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Non Compliant By Duane Jethro ‘His poes also,’ was the first thought that…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘The Deep River of Missing Things’ by Tshegofatso Nkwane
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ The Deep River of Missing Things By Tshegofatso Nkwane I wasn’t there to…
[Fiction Issue] ‘No one in Durban remembers a Christmas as hot as this’—Read an excerpt from Shubnum Khan’s forthcoming novel The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil, the forthcoming novel from Shubnum Khan, which will…
[Fiction Issue] ‘And just like that, in one touch, Ruth’s trauma passed to her’—An excerpt from Tsitsi Mapepa’s debut novel Ndima Ndima
The JRB presents an excerpt from Ndima Ndima, the debut novel from Tsitsi Mapepa. Ndima NdimaTsitsi MapepaCatalyst Press, 2023 The…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The one thing I cannot give her’— Read ‘Mastitis’ by Mubanga Kalimamukwento, from Now Now: The 2023 Doek Anthology
The JRB presents an excerpt from Mubanga Kalimamukwento’s short story ‘Mastitis’, published in Now Now: The 2023 Doek Anthology. Now…
[Fiction Issue] ‘This was the only way. If she let him go, it would be the end’—Read an excerpt from Hamza Koudri’s debut novel Sand Roses
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sand Roses, the debut novel by Hamza Koudri. Sand RosesHamza KoudriHolland House Books, 2023…
[Fiction Issue] ‘They came riding cattle lorries. Their whole world travelling with them’—Read an excerpt from Magogodi oaMphela Makhene’s Innards
The JRB presents an excerpt from ‘7678B Old Potchefstroom Road’, from Innards, the debut short story collection by Magogodi oaMphela…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Sometimes we need to lie to ourselves. It’s the only way the world makes sense’—Read an excerpt from SE Bhamjee’s debut novel Home Scar
The JRB presents an excerpt from Home Scar, the forthcoming debut novel by SE Bhamjee. Home ScarSE BhamjeeModjaji Books, 2024…
[Fiction Issue] ‘You don’t expect annihilation in the afternoon’—Read an excerpt from Diane Awerbuck’s new short story collection Inside your body there are flowers
The JRB presents an excerpt from Inside your body there are flowers, the new collection of short stories by Diane…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Once I lay outside for five days. In the rain.’—Read an excerpt from Byron Loker’s New Swell, out soon in a new edition
The JRB presents an excerpt from New Swell, the short story collection by Byron Loker, which will be published in…
[The JRB Daily] Paul Lynch wins the 2023 Booker Prize for his ‘soul-shattering and true’ novel Prophet Song
Paul Lynch has won the 2023 Booker Prize for his novel Prophet Song. He receives £50,000 and was presented with…
[The JRB Daily] Bulelwa Mabasa and CA Davids win the 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards
The winners of the 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced. Bulelwa Mabasa has won the Non-fiction Award for…
[The JRB Daily] Henrietta Rose-Innes wins 2023 UJ Prize for Literary Translation
Henrietta Rose-Innes has been awarded the prestigious UJ Prize for Literary Translation, for her translation of Etienne van Heerden’s novel…
The heady days of post-independence literature in Zimbabwe—Fungai Machirori interviews renowned independent publisher Irene Staunton
It was a warm afternoon when I visited Weaver Press earlier this year. I was moderating a book launch for…
‘She puts the worm in her mouth. She swallows it whole. It doesn’t wriggle. Too late now’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s new novel, Bridge
The JRB presents an excerpt from Bridge, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. BridgeLauren BeukesPenguin Random House SA, 2023…
‘The world was tilting. The world was sinking. The city throbbed with energy and rage’—Read an excerpt from Ben Okri’s new book, Tiger Work
The JRB presents an excerpt from Tiger Work, the latest collection of poems, fables, and essays from Ben Okri. Tiger…
‘The stranger was on his feet, healing impossibly fast, even for what he was’—Read an excerpt from Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ’s award-winning debut novel Dazzling
The JRB presents an excerpt from Dazzling by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. Dazzling Chịkọdịlị EmelụmadụHeadline Publishing Group The Arrival Long Before They…
‘The ominous ring of the prison siren still lingers in the air as if signalling the end of days’—Read an excerpt from Angela Makholwa’s new novel The Reed Dance Stalker
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Reed Dance Stalker, the new novel from Angela Makholwa. The Reed Dance StalkerAngela…
‘Until today I thought they only existed as myths to scare children’—Read an excerpt from Christopher Mlalazi’s new novel, Langabi: Season of Beasts
The JRB presents an excerpt from Langabi: Season of Beasts by Christopher Mlalazi. Langabi is the first book from Mother,…
‘All the black people in Oxford—the whole lot of them—were coming to see Ian Smith’—Read an excerpt from Buntu Siwisa’s debut novel, Paperless
The JRB presents an excerpt fom Paperless by Buntu Siwisa. PaperlessBuntu SiwisaJacana Media, 2023 One I was on my way…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards shortlists announced
The shortlists for the 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been revealed. The two awards—the Non-fiction Award and the Fiction…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Vibrant, nervy, electric, astonishing’ 2023 Booker Prize shortlist announced
The 2023 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, offering ‘a sense of timelessness even while saying something about how we…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English winners announced
Header image: CA Davids and Pulane Mlilo Mpondo The winners of the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in…
‘An excellent example of the reviewer’s least favourite thing’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang
In Yellowface, the contrast is turned up so brightly that the shadows disappear, writes Wamuwi Mbao, but it’s the darkness…
‘Few novels preoccupy me; Decima inhabits me’—Michael Titlestad reviews Eben Venter’s ‘singular and significant’ new novel
Eben Venter’s Decima is a novel in which morality is shown to be an intricately woven fabric of contesting needs…
‘We, human beings, know how our stories end—with our heads blossoming into daisies’—Jarred Thompson chats to Anna Stroud about his novel The Institute for Creative Dying
Anna Stroud chats to Jarred Thompson about The Institute for Creative Dying, his debut novel that imagines a radical alternative…
‘An intsomi, a fable of biblical and mythological proportions’—Mphuthumi Ntabeni reviews Eye Brother Horn by Bridget Pitt
Eye Brother Horn by Bridget Pitt is a South African novel immersed in our oral culture and traditions, writes Mphuthumi…
A novel of many dark nights and unrelenting mishaps—Shayera Dark reviews Bisi Adjapon’s Daughter in Exile
Daughter in Exile by Bisi Adjapon is a pacy, character-driven novel that surveys the many burdens of living as an…
Read ‘A World Minus Women’, excerpted from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new novel, Breasts, etc
The JRB presents an extract from Breasts, etc, the new novel from Nthikeng Mohlele. Breasts, etcNthikeng MohleleBlank Page Books, 2023…
‘But when she tried to cry, all that spilled out of her was laughter’—Read an excerpt from Ukamaka Olisakwe’s new novel Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name
The JRB presents an excerpt from Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name, the new novel from Ukamaka Olisakwe. Don’t…