Johannesburg

By Fiona Melrose Corsair, £16.99

Set over the course of one day – that of Nelson Mandela’s death – Fiona Melrose’s second novel introduces us to a diverse cast of characters, including an agitated mother turning 80 and her free-spirited daughter returning from New York to host a party neither woman really wants; the senior employees of an embattled mining company in the heart of the South African capital; and a pair of siblings torn apart first by poverty, then tragedy. Mandela’s death is never dealt with in great detail, but the first few pages ensure that “Tata” and all his trials and tribulations weigh heavily in the background. Melrose paints the city beautifully, full of grace, colour and also fear. ■