south african authors male

In South Africa the situation is different. He’s produced 20 novels, has been published in the UK and the US, and translated into Afrikaans, Dutch, French and German.Agents of State on Amazon, Ekow Duker’s work and education has taken him across the African continent, to the UK, France and the USA, before he settled in Johannesburg. With a population of 55 million and 11 official languages, the pool of readers and storytellers is vast. In a country where crime is widespread, South African crime writers have an abundance of material to work with. Your email address will not be published. Have you met Detective David ‘Kubu’ Bhengu? Brown has also written a non-fiction novel called Street Blues which is written about his experience as a police reservist. If Karin Brynard is the queen of South African crime fiction, Deon Meyer is the undisputed king. May 10: The Curious Case of Dassoukine’s Trousers by Fouad Laroui (Deep Vellum), Last year, Deep Vellum published Tram 83 and it’s been a runaway freight-train of a hit; this year, they’re publishing the English language debut of one of Morocco’s most prominent contemporary writers, with an introduction by Laila Lalami: “Laroui uses surrealism, laugh-out-loud humor, and profound compassion across a variety of literary styles to highlight the absurdity of the human condition, exploring the realities of life in a world where everything is foreign.”, June 7: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Penguin Random House). There are so many great writers, from Africa and the African Diaspora, to discover. To a large extent our crime fiction is set in a political and social environment which makes categorising them by traditional crime fiction standards quite challenging. At the recent Stellenbosch Woordfees (Festival of Words), four female crime writers, anchored by fellow crime author Mike Nicol, gathered to discuss the status of crime fiction. Coupled with the small market for writing in African languages, this has led many African writers to write in English and Afrikaans. As with many South African crime writers, crime and the social and political environment in which it thrives sometimes play a bigger role than the crime-solving itself. Thanks again for the great list Sonja. Most of his fiction focuses on the impact of politics, particularly on the Indian community in South Africa. With her cosy Tannie Maria mysteries, Sally Andrew adds some zest (and recipes) to a predominantly serious genre. There’s a trip back in time to the 1930s,…, Born in Kenya and raised in South Africa, Peter Hain moved to the UK in the 1970s and became a leading anti-apartheid activist. Staff Writer 23 August 2016. 2006 Jan;18(1):123-32. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.20471. With 13 novels and two short story collections published in more than 40 countries worldwide it’s futile to debate his remarkable success. After a failed uprising, a sinister authority, the Gate, rises to power. This list covered mostly the established authors who are widely translated, but I think a follow-up with some of the newer and possibly lesser-known SA crime authors might be a good idea…. Andrew Brown is a South African writer who is best known for his novel Inyenzi, which is centered around the Rwandan genocide, he had also written crime novels such as Coldsleep Lullaby, Refuge and Solace. Mike doesn’t write action scenes. Along with his partner and sometime sidekick Vicky Kahn, this surfer and private investigator ensures there’s plenty of drama and intrigue in Mike Nicol’s novels – and we reviewed one of the best of them, Agents of the State, in 2017. Gyasi is deeply concerned with the sin of selling humans on Africans, not Europeans. In the fifth, Circus, the attention shifts to the back story of one of the other characters, Adriana van der Hoon. Here are a few writers who have succeeded in drawing readers in spite of these obstacles. This journalism background is tangible in the way she fills out her characters and storylines with relevant factual details in a subtle yet effective way. If you are brave, start with the first of the series, a harrowing depiction of human trafficking and the reality of street life, set against the backdrop of Cape Town.Margie Orford on Amazon, Imraan Coovadia is a prolific storyteller and effortlessly addresses the issues of migration, historical concerns, loss of culture and nationality in a clever and sometimes humorous manner. Sadly all of the novels in the series haven’t been translated yet, but the last two, Blue Sunday and Circus are available in English and can be read as standalone works.Blue Sunday on Kobo, Zanemvula Mda, or Zakes as he is better known, published his first highly acclaimed novel, Ways of Dying, in 1995. However, in spite of all the difficulties, South Africans have contributed immensely to the development of the world in the fields of literature, philosophy, science and fine arts. Coetzee, “Something Sleeps in the Mud-Beds of the Nile,”, a wonderfully eccentric series from Restless Books, You Don’t Have to Be a Veteran to Write About War, How I Accidentally Wrote a Civil War Novel, On the Years When Jane Austen Couldn't Write, Hannah K. Chapman, Lauren Burke, & Kaley Bales, Hook the Reader and Hold Them: Why More Writers Should Study the Lessons of YA, How Tony Soprano Inaugurated a New (and Raw) Version of Masculinity, The Life and Times of “The Most Intelligent Bird in the World", "Gross, Grotesque, Gruesome and Horrible Throughout", Emma Straub on Samantha Irby, Colson Whitehead, and, Japan's Most Notorious Kidnapping Is Still Unsolved, Escape Your Travel Limitations With These 10 International Thriller Series, How Gilded Age Corruption Produced the Biggest, Maddest Gold Rush in History, In Psychological Thrillers, Sisters Have a Very Special Role to Play. A lack of action doesn’t make any difference to his multi-layered, sometimes funny, always entertaining characters. I’ve read and enjoyed a few of these authors, but was keen to find more South African crime writing, particularly from female authors (I have Margie Orford on my bookshelves, but not much else on that front). Steve Biko. Miriam Tlali. Psychologist and academic Malose Langa has documented graphically what it means to be a young black man in contemporary South Africa. Although she hasn’t published any new novels recently, her Clare Hart series stands out in a genre where male characters dominate. I rely on M. Lynx Qualey to tell me what Arab literature in English to read, and she has told me to read this one. Set in KwaZulu Natal, it tells of Nafisa’s struggle to come to terms with the murder of her husband and the complications arising from it. The black Americans she follows are not overly virtuous victims. Also recommended if you are looking for crime novels with substance and content true to the South African landscape are Karin’s other two novels, Our Fathers and Weeping Waters. Background. There are plenty more, but not all of them are translated or available in the UK unfortunately. Wahala is Nigerian slang for trouble, an apt description for Cash Tshabalala, a notorious, well-dressed money-lender in Scottsville, Soweto who lends money to the son of a fabulously rich white South African family. One of the biggest challenge South African crime writers face is finding a way to write for and engage with an audience desensitised by violence. Queen of Icelandic crime writing Yrsa Sigurdardottir describes it as “…crimes as dark as the darkest of Nordic noir.” Read our interview with the pair here.Carrion Death on Amazon, Irma Venter creates strong, unconventional women, interesting men and intriguing plots – all based in unique settings, whether it’s Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, India or Berlin. If you prefer escaping to a world where time and reality are warped, Beukes’ writing will fascinate you. Thank you for this list. Instead Nordic noir authors like Yrsa Sigurdardottir have to find other innovative ways to kill off their victims and they also don’t shy away from depicting violence. Fever on Amazon, Margie Orford is irrefutably one of the most underrated crime writers in South Africa. These are all current writers, but other readers might be interested in James McClure’s Kramer and Zondi series from the ’70s. The first thing you…, Our weekly new books column returns, and we start things off in Southern Africa where the latest from Michael Stanley takes us back to the early days of Detective Kubu, their popular CID investigator in Botswana. She does not excuse. However, what was more noteworthy was how the occurrence of crime in a country influences the nature of its crime fiction. The queen of South African crime fiction is Karin Brynard, but she started her writing career as a political journalist, working on several newspapers and magazines in South Africa. ); until last year, Murambi, The Book of Bones was his only novel in English; now, hard on the heels of the translation of The Knight and His Shadow, … We have to, just look at our politics. If you love a strong female lead, social commentary and a solid storyline, you will enjoy her writing. According to Ekow his stories “…tell of the brutality, love, fragility and hope that characterises life in modern day Africa.” His other novels include Dying in New York, The God Who Makes Mistakes, and the recently released Yellowbone.White Wahala on Amazon, Lauren Beukes is the rock star of South African fiction. Others manage to find new and interesting, funny or even fantastical stories to keep you turning the pages. ... South African men … As another reader describes: This Egyptian novel is set in an almost present-day Egypt, slightly more dystopian than reality. Authors P B Gray 1 , A Kruger, H W Huisman, M P Wissing, H H Vorster. However, blacks have limited access to diagnostic facilities and present late with an advanced disease. Karin Brynard, Bettina Wyngaard, Irma Venter and Icelandic writer Yrsa Sigurdardottir reflected on the difference between the writing of male and female authors. In Sacrifices, Michael Lane tries to protect his family from becoming another South African crime statistic by isolating them behind their mansion’s security walls. Unspoken victims: A national study of male rape incidents and police investigations in South Africa. Gyasi’s characters are so fully realized, so elegantly carved—very often I found myself longing to hear more. You might even consider reading the follow-up, Tannie Maria and the Satanic Mechanic just for its obscure title? Although there are nine official African languages in South Africa, most speakers are fluent in Afrikaans and English. In comparison, Iceland is comparatively crime-free and it would be unrealistic for guns to be used as murder weapons as they’re almost impossible to come by. The boys discuss a range of topics including the impact of absent fathers, relationships with mothers, siblings and girls, school violence, academic performance, homophobia, gangsterism, unemployment and, in one case, prison life. © 2020 Crime Fiction Lover. Interview: Peter Hain talks about the Rhino Conspiracy, A guide to John Connolly’s Charlie Parker, Northern Ireland crime fiction: 10 books to try. One such writer, Rider Haggard, wrote many mythical and adventur… In Black Diamond, tough magistrate Kristin Uys puts Stevo Visagie behind bars however he still manages to plan his revenge from Diepkloof Prison. Melville House). Sin comes in all forms, from selling people to abandoning children. Her books are all standalone, but for a truly bone-chilling read, try Broken Monsters, in which Detective Gabi Versado has to find a killer hell-bent on creating his own monsters in the city of Detroit.Broken Monsters on Amazon. All Rights Reserved. The first fictional works to emerge from South Africa were produced by colonial writers whose attitude to indigenous South Africans was, at best, ambivalent, if not outright hostile. Your email address will not be published. If you are curious about life and crime in the Winelands, Icarus, one of his more recent novels is highly entertaining, surprisingly humorous and an easy introduction to Deon’s larger than life characters. You haven’t? Well, you are in luck, because Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip decided to write a prequel to their six-novel series featuring Kubu and Facets of Death is exactly where his story starts. Another former journalist, his novels fall on the gritty side with characters like Benny Griessel, who is so true to life that he could easily be your South African next-door neighbour. This is particularly evident in her last novel, Homeland, where she returns to her roots in the Kalahari in the Northern Cape. The main character was shot during the uprising and is waiting for official permission to have a bullet removed; the novel is, intriguingly, structured using his medical records. In the first four books of the series the narrative revolves mostly around two main characters – Ranna Abramson, a freelance photographer, and Alex Dercksen, a freelance journalist. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world, five times the size of the United Kingdom, yet a large part of the population can’t afford books, which are generally considered a luxury. Based on his writing style he’s one of the few South African crime writers who fits squarely into the hardboiled noir crime mould and is frequently compared to Elmore Leonard. And she does not romanticize. Her childhood is disrupted when her Dutch father, an anti-apartheid activist, smuggles money for the ANC and she is blackmailed by the security police. Although their writing hasn’t received the attention it deserves in South Africa, they’ve published seven novels in the series and gained rapid support from the overseas market, particularly in the UK. Hello. You can read our interview with Roger Smith here.Roger Smith on Amazon. 25 African Male Writers You Should Read was compiled by an expert in the field of contemporary African literature. Recurring character Captain Albertus Beeslaar narrowly escapes his own voluntary resignation when an elder of the local San community dies after being released from police custody. Other novels include The Wedding, Green-Eyed Thieves, High Low In-Between, The Institute for Taxi Poetry, Tales of the Metric System and most recently A Spy in Time.High Low In-Between on Amazon, Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip make up the formidable team who created Botswana detective David Bengu or Kubu, a larger-than-life assistant police superintendent named after the Tswana word for hippopotamus. When a white South African investigates the death of a black friend in police custody, he uncovers the brutal truth about apartheid South Africa. Mda is a prolific writer of novels, plays, poems and articles for academic journals and newspapers, whose writing has been translated into 20 languages.Black Diamond on Amazon, South Africans use humour as a coping mechanism. Margie Orford is irrefutably one of the most underrated crime writers … Forms, from socio-political novels to detailed procedurals sin of selling humans on Africans, not Europeans about experience. 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