JM Coetzee’s ‘late style’—Angelo Fick reviews The Death of Jesus, the ‘masterful, spare and beautiful’ final book of the Jesus trilogy
There are no easy answers in JM Coetzee’s new novel The Death of Jesus, but the exploration is part of…
Category: International
[The JRB Daily] [Exclusive] ‘A notice at the cash register with a sad-face emoji reads, “Sorry! Hand Sanitizer Sold Out!”’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s prescient new novel Afterland
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Afterland, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. Afterland is…
‘If I had power over the lexical landscape, I would get rid of the word immigrant’—Nana Oforiatta Ayim talks to Wamuwi Mbao about her debut novel The God Child
Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a Ghanaian writer, filmmaker and art historian. On a balmy traffic-clagged Cape Town morning, I meet…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Discomforting and elating encounters with selves in a state of transition’—2020 International Booker Prize shortlist announced
The six-book shortlist for the 2020 International Booker Prize has been revealed. For the second year running, the shortlist is…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A delightfully queer treatment of everyday life’—Jarred Thompson wins 2020 Afritondo Short Story Prize for ‘Good Help is Hard to Find’
South African writer Jarred Thompson has been announced as the winner of the 2020 Afritondo Short Story Prize for his…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A story luminously told’—Marguerite Poland’s historical novel A Sin of Omission shortlisted for prestigious Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
The shortlist for the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been announced, including South African author Marguerite Poland,…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Windham–Campbell Prizes winners announced, including Zambian writer Namwali Serpell
Header image: Top row, left to right: Anne Boyer (non-fiction), Julia Cho (drama), Aleshea Harris (drama), and Bhanu Kapil (poetry);…
‘I had to choose which “truth” would suit the story best’—Willem Anker chats to Jennifer Malec about his novel Red Dog
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec talks to Willem Anker about his novel Red Dog, which was recently longlisted for the…
JM Coetzee celebrates his 80th birthday in Makhanda—festivities offer a glimpse into the life of John Coetzee, the man, who engenders JM Coetzee, the writer
To honour JM Coetzee’s eightieth birthday on 9 February 2020, an exhibition celebrating his life and work titled Scenes from…
New short fiction: ‘Ugborikoko’ by Jerry Chiemeke—The JRB’s Pidgin English debut
The JRB presents new short fiction by Jerry Chiemeke. The piece is written in Warri Pidgin English, a dialect of…
‘We are African writers, we write as Africans and we share our books as Africans’—The tiny island of Mayotte has big plans for books, reports James Murua
The JRB Editorial Advisory Panel member James Murua reports back from his trip to the Salon du Livre de Mayotte, which took place…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 International Booker Prize longlist announced—including South African author Willem Anker, for his novel Red Dog, translated by Michiel Heyns
The longlisted books for the 2020 International Booker Prize have been revealed, featuring translations from eight languages, originating in Europe,…
A powerful contribution towards the creation of a vitally needed counter-narrative of England—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s new book Manchester Happened reflects the here-and-there double consciousness of living between Uganda and England, writes Wamuwi…
[City Editor] Conjuring his images out of darkness—Lidudumalingani reflects on how the late Santu Mofokeng’s photographs are a kind of visual metaphor for Johannesburg
Johannesburg is a city that dances on the edges of elusive, and yet somehow Santu Mofokeng managed to contain it…
‘I experience a new type of fear every time I write’—Lebohang Mojapelo interviews exiled Sudanese author Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin
Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin is a bestselling, award-winning writer originally from Kassala in eastern Sudan, but currently based in Austria, where…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘This is not a game of football, it is a slaughter of the innocents!’—Read an excerpt from JM Coetzee’s new novel The Death of Jesus
The JRB presents, exclusively in South Africa, an excerpt from The Death of Jesus, the newly published final novel of…
[The JRB Daily] The AKO Caine Prize announces 2020 judging panel—and major new sponsorship deal
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has announced its panel of judges for 2020, and a new sponsorship deal. …
[Conversation Issue] ‘I know what lurks in the bushes. And that’s how I write the stories’—Jason Reynolds talks to Tony Eprile about resistance and the imagination
As part of our January Conversation Issue, author and Editorial Advisory Panel member Tony Eprile is in conversation with Jason…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I won’t be polite, because there’s nothing polite about patriarchy’—Mona Eltahawy inspires (and triggers) at the Abantu Book Festival, reports Itumeleng Molefi
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Itumeleng Molefi reflects on Mona Eltahawy’s keynote address and conversation with Pumla Dineo…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I wanted to throw back the curtain on some of the things and places that “nice” people avoid talking about’—Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan talks to Ben Williams about her bestselling Singlish novel Sarong Party Girls
As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB Publisher Ben Williams chats to Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan about her debut…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I seek out women who make unpopular decisions in my writing because they’re more interesting to me’—Nicole Dennis-Benn chats to Wamuwi Mbao about her bestselling novel, Patsy
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Wamuwi Mbao chats to Nicole Dennis-Benn about her work, the process of writing…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Appropriation is not in and of itself a bad thing, but the way it’s invoked in the culture makes it seem like it is’—Lauren Michele Jackson talks to Khanya Mtshali about her book, White Negroes
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Lauren Michele Jackson talks to Khanya Mtshali about her new book, White Negroes:…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Dispossession is the backdrop to every South African story’—Henrietta Rose-Innes in conversation with Gail Fincham about her forthcoming novel, Stone Plant
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Gail Fincham interviews Henrietta Rose-Innes about her work, including her forthcoming fifth novel,…
[Conversation Issue] On writing about religion, childhood and insecurities: Azad Essa transcribes a conversation between father and son
As part of our January Conversation Issue, journalist and author Azad Essa is in conversation with his father Ebrahim Essa,…
[The JRB Daily] Top 10 of 2019—A look back at our most popular articles of the year
This December marked the The JRB’s thirty-second issue, the final issue of our third volume. With the new year—but not…
[Fiction issue] [The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from a work in progress by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from a work in progress by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. ~~~ Dinner was a celebration,…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Georgia’s Errand’, a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch
The JRB presents a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch. Georgia’s Errand ‘Doesn’t that get boring?’ I ask Boone one…
[Fiction issue] Read an excerpt from Alastair Bruce’s forthcoming novel, The Weight of Skin
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Weight of Skin by Alastair Bruce. The Weight of Skin will be published…
[Fiction issue] Read an excerpt from a work in progress by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe. Onyemelukwe’s debut novel, The Son of the…
[Fiction issue] Read ‘A Family History in a Passport’ by Yovanka Paquete Perdigao, excerpted from Bakwa 09: Taxi Drivers Who Drive Us Nowhere and Other Travel Stories
The JRB presents an excerpt from Bakwa 09: Taxi Drivers Who Drive Us Nowhere and Other Travel Stories. The excerpted story…
‘you step’, a poem by Gratiagusti Chananya Rompas, translated by Mikael Johani
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a poem by Gratiagusti Chananya Rompas, translated by Mikael Johani. you step on the…
[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of Read This!—featuring The Shadow King and The Water Dancer
The new episode of Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of books! In this episode, we travel…
[The JRB Daily] 12 African writers nominated for 2020 International Dublin Literary Award—the world’s richest annual literary prize
Twelve African writers have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
A depth charge aimed at the submerged wreckage of slavery—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Water Dancer, the debut novel by acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between Baldwin, the world and the Old South—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Water DancerTa-Nehisi CoatesHamish…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other—‘One of my aims as a writer is to explore the hidden narratives of the African diaspora’
The JRB presents an excerpt from Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. Girl, Woman,…
Fragments, explorations and variations—Jennifer Malec reviews Zadie Smith’s debut collection of short stories, Grand Union, her most American book to date
Zadie Smith, the accomplished, experimental New Yorker—The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Grand Union. Grand UnionZadie SmithHamish Hamilton, 2019 Read an…
[Temporary Sojourner] Thrill to the layered, secret nature of it—Efemia Chela reviews Maaza Mengiste’s new novel, The Shadow King
The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Ethiopia with the living archive of Maaza Mengiste’s novel, The Shadow King. The…
Gandhi as heir of Rhodes? A reassessment of the Mahatma as an Afro-Asian prophet
Adekeye Adebajo addresses the once-unthinkable question ‘Was Gandhi a racist?’, as the 150th anniversary of his birth is celebrated. 1….
New poetry by Brendan Joyce, from Character Limit
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Brendan Joyce, from his chapbook, Character Limit. ~~~ 21. To be…
‘I would like to be on good terms with all animals.’ Read an excerpt from Zadie Smith’s debut short story collection, Grand Union
The JRB presents an excerpt from Grand Union—the first ever collection of stories by Zadie Smith, the Booker Prize-shortlisted author…