Across my desk
A selection of the books that landed on our Book Editor’s desk this week. Some will be reviewed later
The Space Between the Space Between, by John Hunt (Umuzi)
The first few pages of this novel are delightfully whacky. Jethro has a deadpan manner of confiding in the therapist he goes to after a burglary in which the burglars demand he makes them coffee.
They like it sweet and milky, and they also want biscuits. Jethro makes a living inside a wire giraffe peddling condoms to township residents for an Aids awareness NGO.
But Jethro’s life is not under control, and things are looking dark until he meets an 11-year-old girl who supplies a light. But, says, the cover blurb, it’s up to Jethro to work out where to shine it. John Hunt is the Hunt of Hunt Lascaris, and the author of several TV dramas.
Hunger Eats a Man, by Nkosinathi Sithole (Penguin)
The only thing that moves in Ndlalidlindoda is time – everything else is stagnant, observes Priest, who has lived there for 20 years. Ndlalidlindoda, which means “hunger eats a man”, is a cold, windy place in winter, and Priest is not looking forward to it. Priest – real name Father Gumede – becomes angry and desperate when he loses his farm job, and his faith in humanity is destroyed. But when his son Sandile writes a prophetic tale about the downtrodden rising up to march on a wealthy white suburb, Priest has to rethink his bitterness.
The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins (Doubleday)
Rachel used to have a happy life, but then things fell apart. Now she catches the train into Euston each day and peers at the back gardens of the Victorian cottages they pass. A faulty signal means the train pauses at exactly the same place every morning, and Rachel fantasises about the lovely young couple who live in the house, Jess and Jason she calls them.
She remembers when her life seemed as perfect. Then one morning she sees something that shocks her, just a flash, before the train moves on.
Now all is changed, and Rachel can become more to Jess and Jason than just the girl on the train.