BOOK SA – Reviews

Verdict: carrot

Szczurek assures us that Alexander McCall Smith’s Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, No. 10 in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series, is not to be missed!

McCall Smith does not dwell on the topics most other authors writing about Africa focus on: poverty, violence and misery.

Critics have pointed out that this is the greatest fault of the series, and yet I cannot help wondering what is so wrong about putting southern Africa on the literary map in the best possible light, as a warm-hearted place where good things do happen. So what if the work leans towards the unrealistic? Most fiction has that disconcerting quality.

• Complete review in the Sunday Independent

Book Details

• Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  EAN: 9780349119977
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Verdict: carrot

We couldn’t find a cover image for this book of Botswanan (Batswanan?) verse; if you have one please send it to us!

Wild Berries Inside and Behind the Yard: An Anthology of Contemporary Botswana Poetry is a joint publication between the British Council and Books Botswana resulting from The New Authors Competition initiative. The anthology contains poems by nine poets. The poets are Gaopotlake Duncan Mongwaketse, whose winning entry, is Guided Lessons in the Park. He has contributed other poems too. The other poets honoured are: Tshepo Tilia Thupa, Betty Sethunya Norkjaer, Godfrey Ntuluki, Rebaone Maradona Moiketsi, Abednico-Kay K Chetelo, Snr, Fatima Natalie Jackson, Tjawangwa “TJ” Dema, and Waff Elliot Nkhwanana.

The book begins with an introduction by Jacob Sam-la Rose, followed by the Winner’s acknowledgement by Mongwaketse. Then follows Mongwaketse’s winning poem Guided Lessons in the Park; two runner up poems, headed Highly Commended, being Thupa’s SMS to Mama; and Norkjaer’s African Rain and then a section with more poems under the heading The Rest of the Best of Contemporary Botswana Poetry and finally a section entitled Meet the Poets.

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UPDATE: The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu and A Deadly Trade are the same book – the former title is the one being used in the USA, the latter in the rest of the world – so we got that bit wrong. This doesn’t take away from the filip of being given a shout by Publisher’s Weekly, of course.

Can it be? South Africa’s crime writing fans have been preparing themselves for the advent of the second book in Michael Stanley’s Detective Kubu series, A Deadly Trade – when what should come along but notice of the third!

“Fine” is mighty fine indeed, in this case. The book’s cover isn’t even available yet, but the team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollop should be very pleased to have attracted the eye of the folks over at Publishers Weekly for The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu: A Detective Kubu Mystery.

The anonymous review is just a paragraph that details the novel’s plot and cast of characters, but getting through the door of this high profile journal is a promising start. Go Detective Kubu, go:
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Sheridan Griswold, a book reviewer based in Gaborone, writes in a style that typically offers a well structured synopsis of a book’s narrative and a finely-articulated critique.

His contextualising comments and balanced criticism enhance one’s reading experience as they favour realistic expectations of the text and help one identify whether one is likely to find the book appealing.

His look at Nigerian-born Simi Bedford’s “thoroughly researched” three-part saga Not with Silver is no exception:
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Sheridan Griswold is back! – either that or the Botswanan paper where Griswold’s book reviews appear has starting putting them online again.

Like Michiel Heyns in his latest review, Griswold has chosen to trawl the archives of 2008 publications for a worthy subject. And a worthy subject Rosamund Kendal’s Karma Suture turns out to be. It collects a brand-new carrot here (and see Griswold’s final paragraph, which goes into some of the other places where the words “karma suture” have been found):
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Sally-Ann Murray gives distinguished South African poet Patrick Cullinan a long carrot for his collection of poems from 1973 to 2007, Escarpments. Murray is critical of some of Cullinan’s work chosen for the collection, but mostly describes his poetry as “masterly”.

It is a carrot that, one could say, still has its roots attached, complete with references and a bibliography which, one regrets to point out, spells “Karina Magdalena Szczurek” incorrectly. A bit harsh, yes, but then one must always remain mindful of the maxim, who will review the reviewers?, when harvesting carrots:
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Botswana reviewer Sheridan Griswold surveys the unlooked-for rise of a sub-genre of crime fiction – the detective novel set in Botswana. In the wake of Alexander McCall Smith’s run away success with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Griswold highlights three other titles inhabiting the sub-genre, worthy of readers’ attention.

He mentions Unity Dow’s Screaming of the Innocent, Lauri Kubuitsile’s Fatal Payout and newcomer to the team, Michael Stanley’s A Carrion Death.
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Catja Orford’s Tracking Bubu – published some while back – is an interesting book from a range of perspectives. This contemporary travelogue through the heart of Africa (Gabon, specifically, where Orford worked on a gorilla conservation project) has already received a couple of carrots: click here and here. Now comes another from Kathy Berman.

“In the intellectual rounds of debate on ‘ownership’ and ‘identity’ that preoccupy postcolonial discourse, the breathless voice of ingénue Catja Orford, a modern-day young woman adventurer, is refreshing,” says Berman.

The reviewer also has high praise for the sensitive design team whose creativity ensured that this book is a visual delight – “an enchanting experience.” Better a carrot belated than no carrot at all:
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In one of his typically comprehensive reviews, Sheridan Griswold from Botswana looks at the latest edition of Jenny Crwys-Williams’ The Penguin Dictionary of South African Quotations.

Although he praises the dictionary, saying that there is “something for everyone in this unusual volume, not just speechwriters,” he is also critical of the omissions. In particular, he objects to the lack of references to the ‘arms deal’, or the militarisation of South African society, saying, “Given the billions of Rand that have gone to patrol boats and planes and the allegations of corruption at the highest level, this is an unusual oversight.”

We note his call for a similar dictionary for Botswana, wondering which publisher will take the initiative in such an important project.
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There is something so thoroughly satisfying about reading a good review that one can entirely understand book lovers’ devouring of journals devoted to the genre – the London Review of Books, The New York Review of Books – their lamenting the demise of others – SARoB – their yearning for the return of activity at still others – African Review of Books.com.

After last week’s grumble about shabby reviews it seems apt to tap the shoulders of a reviewer (knighthood style, with a carrot) who was recently discovered by the BOOK SA team.
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