Verdict: carrot
BOOK SA member Helen Moffett presents a thoughtful review of Load Shedding, successor to the equally carroty At Risk:
Load Shedding is one of the most compelling books I’ve read this year. I enjoyed it so much that I went back for its predecessor, At Risk. Both are collections of essays by academics, writers and journalists at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) in Johannesburg. According to the 2007 WISER Project document, “[o]ne of the distinguishing features of [our] approach is … a strong emphasis on the practice of everyday life”, and this is an underlying theme in these bold collections: academic reflection on everyday experiences expressed in a new and different form of writing.
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December 11th, 2009 @17:25 #
Brilliant review - will definitely be reading these .
December 11th, 2009 @17:53 #
Superb review indeed, Helen.
December 14th, 2009 @17:06 #
I was at the launch of At Risk, where Antjie Krog welcomed writing of this calibre so heartily.
She said: “In a fast growing and complex country like ours, we can’t afford to have the best brains in our country talking only to the best brains of elsewhere, in incomprehensible language, debating from their well ensconced positions in the wrought-iron corners of cyberspace and badly-designed journals.”
http://jonathanball.book.co.za/blog/2007/08/29/stories-that-engage-with-south-africas-rough-public-space-at-risk-launched/
December 19th, 2009 @09:26 #
Yay, while I was away (gambolling once more at the parental acres, this time with sister and niece) this carrot got served up on a silver platter. Amen to what Antjie says (thanks for reminding me of her words, Liesl).