Reviews

Themba - a Boy called Hope

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:42:00 GMT

Themba - a Boy called Hope by Lutz van Dijk

WORDS TO SUCCEED BY

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:47:00 GMT

Oxford – The World’s Most Trusted Dictionaries...

A Prisoner's Home: Alf Kumalo and Zukiswa Wanner

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:09:00 GMT

A Prisoner's Home...

Oprah: Kitty Kelley

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:51:00 GMT

After a quarter of a century of the Oprah-ization of America, can there be any more secrets left to reveal?

Yes! Because Oprah has met her match...

Pieternella of the Cape: Dalene Matthee

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:31:00 GMT

The narrative opens in the early days of the white settlement at the Cape, with the Dutch East India Company clinging precariously to a little piece of land in Table Bay, Robben Island. Pieternella is the daughter of Eva, one of the first interpreters and intermediaries between her Khoikhoi tribe and the Dutch, and Pieter van Meerhoff, the Company surgeon at the Cape.

Pieternella and her siblings are amongst the first mixed-race children born at the Cape and their lives are a manifestation of a sentiment often expressed by Matthee in this novel, that life consists of heaven and hell rolled together in the same cloth. After her mother's sudden death, Pieternella and her brother Salomon are sent, reluctantly, as a orphan 'slaves' to foster parents in Mauritius, a penal colony at the time. The sea voyage is described in detail, wondrously imagined, with Pieternella making sense of the new experience in terms of her life at the Cape, so that to her the ship looks like a wooden goose floating on the water and she focuses on the animals on board to orientate herself on the deck, sheep-side and chicken-side.A premature marriage is Pieternella's salvation, but she remains attached to the memory of her mother and is full of turbulent emotions about how she is both brown and white in the same body.

What will her children look like? Is she really a half-slave? Eventually Pieternella must learn to come to terms with her life in Mauritius, a realisation that will, with time, give her some peace and comfort.

"Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace with Marriage": Elizabeth Gilbert

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:33:00 GMT

At the end of her bestselling memoir 'Eat, Pray, Love', Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe - a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. [Both were survivors of previous horrific divorces. Enough said.] But providence intervened one day in the form of the U.S. government, who - after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing - gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving completely into this topic, trying with all her might to discover [through historical research, interviews and much personal reflection] what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. The result is 'Committed' - a witty and intelligent contemplation of marriage that debunks myths, unthreads fears and suggests that sometimes even the most romantic of souls must trade in her amorous fantasies for the humbling responsibility of adulthood. Gilbert's memoir - destined to become a cherished handbook for any thinking person hovering on the verge of marriage - is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love, with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

"Winnie Mandela: A Life": Anne Marie Du Preez Bezdrob

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:57:00 GMT

Few people have courted as much controversy or evoked such strong and divergent emotions as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Adored by some, abhorred by others, she bears a name famous throughout the world, yet not many people know the woman behind the headlines, myths and controversies, or the details of the fascinating story that is her life. This biography reveals the enigma that is Winnie Mandela, by exploring both her personal and political life. The reader is given a rare glimpse into Winnie's strict yet happy rural upbringing, where the foundations were laid for her faith, compassion and indomitable resolve. As a young social worker in 1950s Johannesburg, her beauty, style and character captivated the political activist and Tembu prince, Nelson Mandela. Together, they personified the rising aspirations and political awakening of their people, and, in so doing, inspired a nation.Through her fierce determination and dauntless courage, she survived her husband's imprisonment, continuous harassment by the security police, banishment to a small Free State town, betrayal by friends and allies, and more than a year in solitary confinement u all the while keeping the struggle flame aligh

Danny Dunn: Bryce Courtenay

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:42:00 GMT

In the aftermath of the Great Depression few opportunities existed for working-class boys, but at just eighteen Danny Dunn has a good deal going for him: brains, looks, sporting ability - and an easy charm. His parents run The Hero, a favourite neighbourhood pub, and Danny is a local hero.

Luck changes for Danny when he signs up to go to war. He returns home a physically broken man, to a life that will be changed for ever. Together with Helen, a woman of strength, character and intelligence who becomes his wife, he sets about rebuilding his life. It is a life tormented by personal demons, and shaped by compassion, corruption, love and power - and the gift of twin daughters, Sam and Gabby.

Set against a backdrop of Australian pubs and politics, The Story of Danny Dunn is an Australian family saga spanning three generations. It is a compelling tale of love, ambition and the destructive power of obsession, at a time of great change in Australia's history.

The Love Dare: Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick and Lawrence Kimbrough

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:37:00 GMT

The Number 1 'New York Times' best seller. More than 1.5 million copies in print. 'Unconditional love is eagerly promised at weddings, but rarely practiced in real life. As a result, romantic hopes are often replaced with disappointment in the home. But it doesn't have to stay that way.

'The Love Dare,' as featured in the popular new movie Fireproof [from the makers of Facing the Giants], is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, 'The Love Dare' is a journey you need to take. It's time to learn the keys to finding true intimacy and developing a dynamic marriage. Take the dare

Spud Learning to Fly: John Van De Ruit

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:31:00 GMT

As Spud Milton continues his diabolical stagger through adolescence, he learns one of life's most important lessons: when dealing with women and cretins, nothing is ever quite as it seems. 'I'm practically a man in most areas,' writes Spud confidently on his sixteenth birthday. The year is 1992 and, as always in South Africa, radical change is in the air. The country may be on the bumpy road to an uncomfortable redemption, but Spud Milton is hoping for a smooth ride as he returns to boarding school as a senior. Instead, he discovers that his vindictive arch enemy is back to taunt him and that a garrulous Malawian has taken residence in his dormitory, along with the regular inmates and misfits he calls friends. Spud's world has never seemed less certain; he attempts to master Shakespeare, wrestles constantly with God and the power of negative thinking, and develops an aversion to fried fish after a shocking discovery about his grandmother, Wombat. Spud - Learning to fly transports the reader on an authentic tragicomic journey, deep into the sublime and ridiculous world of being a teenager.