CONTEMPORARY FICTION (SOUTH AFRICA)
Buried in the Chest by Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani, 2025
R260 from The Book Lounge
I would have probably called it Gut Punch in the Stomach, because this book left me breathless. If you know South African rural landscapes, the environment in which this story is set is going to feel very familiar in a way that I haven’t really experienced in literature before. And for all the things I thought I knew about South Africa’s history with apartheid in particular, there is something I hadn’t thought about – how women experienced its brutality in the rural areas as a result of migrant labour – and Buried in the Chest will make you question yourself, will make you question what you know about history. When I had finished reading it, I thought, what if our protagonist Unathi had a slightly different ending? If things had worked out differently, where would they go? And I love that it was possible for me to think about other alternatives to where the book went. I have been transformed by thinking about how stories disappear in history but also how they disappear when we don’t excavate the secrets that lie within us, within our families, and within our communities. Siphokazi Jonas
CONTEMPORARY FICTION (SOUTH AFRICA)
Three Egg Dilemma by Morabo Morajele (2023)
R280 from The Book Lounge
A marvellous book, telling the story of lead character EG and the hodgepodge of people around him during a time of dangerous, all-too-familiar civil unrest. Peppered with remarkable characters, beautifully written in a magical realist style that leans heavily on realism without sacrificing the poetic, Three Egg Dilemma is one of the great South African novels. It ranks with the best of Zakes Mda, and you’ll read it with both hope and despair. Chris Roper
