BOOK MARKS

FRACTURED LIVES

Toni Strasburg

Modjaji Books

MAKING films about the destabilisation South Africa caused in neighbouring states, documentary-maker Toni Strasburg, daughter of Rusty and Hilda Bernstein, saw chaos close-up.

This is her written account of aggression, devastation and confusion, and then the rebuilding. It’s interesting, not only because Africa is in her blood, but because she had to come to terms with the fact that home was actually somewhere else. There were hardships for her team, thanks to bungles and bureaucracy, but nothing compared to what the people on the ground suffered.

Insights are plentiful; she quotes people like Tambo who prophesied that aggression against neighbours would not save apartheid. It’s a solid mixture of memoir and a commentary on changing societies, by a woman working in a man’s world. – Shirley de Kock Gueller

PIRATE ALLEY

Stephen Coonts

Quercus AT LEAST two books have been published detailing the experiences of people captured by Somali pirates in the dangerous shipping route that has taken the nickname Pirate Alley.

So it was only a matter of time before a fictionalised account went into print and Coonts is the man for the job. He is a New York Times bestselling author who has written a huge body of work in which espionage, adventure and world events feature largely.

This time his setting is a luxury liner and nearly 900 lives, passengers and crew, are at the mercy of a group of ruthless men.

The huge number of characters the author has to play with makes for a gripping read, in which fiction and the realities of modern-day hijacking on the high seas blend easily. It’s Coonts at his best.

– Diane Cassere

ELEVEN DAYS

Lea Carpenter

Two Roads

SARA is a single mother to Jason, whose father was an enigmatic character in the shadowy world of Washington.

His father is dead and Sara has raised her son away from Washington and the circles of influence she still has contact with. After 9/11, he shocks her to her self-controlled core when he decides to join the Navy and becomes part of the elite Teams. We meet Sara when Jason has been missing in action for nine days.

She has a settled life and is dealing with not knowing where her son is and the way in which her neighbours are looking after her. The narration moves between Sara’s story and Jason’s story.

Eleven Days draws together the story of a mother and son’s love for each other, while referencing myths around warfare. It’s a tour de force about what modern warfare has come to mean. – Jennifer Crocker

ROBBEN ISLAND -- A PLACE OF INSPIRATION

Struik

Charlene Smith

THIS extensively researched and now revised book on the history, trials and torture of captives on the 518 hectare island 11km off the Cape Town coast is a good read.

Smith details the changes – from being a lunatic and leper colony to hosting exiled Xhosa chiefs, becoming a lookout station during World War II and South Africa’s Alcatraz for political prisoners – with anecdotal, sensitive and emotive writing.

The new edition includes interviews with politicals (as struggle heroes were known) combining touching romance and gruesome horror.

It deals with the island’s fauna and flora and its role as a top tourist destination. Illustrations, letters and historic photos enhance the experience of meandering through one of the most significant spaces of our country. – Elspeth Mendes

PALEOFANTASY: WHAT EVOLUTION REALLY TELLS US ABOUT SEX, DIET AND HOW WE LIVE

Marlene Zuk

Norton

DESPITE citing numerous publications (including by Darwin and Professor Tim Noakes), Zuk’s approach is delightfully light; her language plain. This isn’t an academic tome but a readable exposé of the myths and legends regarding evolution. The main thesis is that evolution can happen at much greater rates than we unscientific thinkers imagine.

The chapter on palaeofantasy love discusses competitive males and choosy females, monogamy and polygyny and “socio-erotic exchanges”, a jargon she simplifies to “an abundance of sex”. On the palaeo diet of meat, fruit and veggies, she has much to say about the genetic changes that have occurred as we adjust to different food types. If you think scientific literacy is a good idea, then read this. – Sue Townsend

GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS

Owen Hendry

Pharos

LEXICOGRAPHY – the practice of compiling dictionaries – may seem an obscure undertaking, but its uses are profound and of real, practical and even historical and sociological value. How wonderful to have a local company that takes this work so seriously.

Some may still suffer under the delusion that Pharos specialises in Afrikaans-English dictionaries, but with each new title it shows an enthusiasm for all kinds of language.

The Glossary of Literary Terms extends the company’s burgeoning list of titles and, as always, the typeface, the careful cross-referencing and the thorough index show an unusual commitment to excellence. The author must be applauded for the simplicity of his explanations and the exciting range of examples he uses from prose and poetry to show meaning. – Karin Schimke