Reading Matters (week 35) August 25 2026

The Glass Island (African Sun Press) by lauded SA novelist, poet and winner of many literary awards, Patricia Schonstein, takes us to a sinking golden city on an island that, from the gondola on the cover, hints heavily at Venice. It is a sanctuary of calm, of peace, to which the narrator is rowed by Charon but, she is far from dead.

Schonstein puts five powerful characters on the island who meet regularly to discuss the ethical decay and tyranny of the mainland. They include poet Stephen Watson, Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The story is rich with poetry and the author’s elegant prose. A novel to make you marvel at, meditate on, and ponder.

I chat about Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer’s book about her, Swan Song (Penguin). He says his aim is to “tell the truth about her, the one-off dynamic character who was full of love, charisma and self-doubt”. No doubt millions of copies will be sold.

I finish with my review of Adrian Gore, CEO of Discovery’s book, The Four Principles (Macmillan). He writes with a refreshing and lively description of his life, which dips into potholes, the 80/20 principle, exercise, and how he founded an organisation that today serves over 50 million customers across 37 countries. An easy, fascinating read.

Reading Matters with Sue Grant-Marshall