Reading Matters November 12 2024

Deon Meyer, internationally recognised as one of the world’s foremost crime writers, has in ‘Leo’( Jonathan Ball) penned a scintillating, breath-defying novel, set primarily in Stellenbosch as well as across SA.

The ‘delicious twosome’ as I call them, Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido are still demoted from the Hawks as they’re commanded, nonetheless, to solve vicious murders. Deon has their repartee nailed as Benny struggles to stay off the bottle and Vaughn diets with difficulty. Deon Meyer’s canny ability to create characters who leap fully formed, off the page, is part of what makes his books irresistible, whilst the tension drives us nuts.  Do get it!

Rugby is permeating the pores of most SA’s as the planet’s south takes on the north in bruising battles on the fields of Scotland, England and Wales. So the timing of ‘ Twice the Glory. The Making of the Greatest Bok Team in History’ ( Jonathan Ball) is perfect – as rugby journalists Lloyd Burnard and Khanyiso Tshwaku write rivetingly about the creation of our winning Springbok team.

Who’d have thought our brilliant comedian, Trevor Noah, could write a children’s book, ‘ Into the Uncut Grass’ ( Macmillan) that would appeal as much to adults as to their offspring.

It’s funny (of course) and loaded with wisdom. It’s delightfully illustrated by Latvian Sabina Hahn and handsomely hard covered.  A keeper.

Most of us live in cities or towns and some of us, nonetheless, gaze upwards at night into a star-lit sky. Which is why when the annual ‘Sky Guide Southern Africa, an astronomical handbook’( PRH/ Struik Nature) hits the bookshelves, there’s a rush to buy it.

This is its 80^th year of publication – an amazing achievement.

Book ReviewsReading Matters with Sue Grant-Marshall