What I’m Reading

SUE BROWN was born and grew up in KwaZulu-Natal. She graduated with a BSc in physiotherapy from Stellenbosch University in 1987. On New Year’s Eve of 2010, her 12-year-old son Craig was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which led to his death eight months later.

The Twinkling of an Eye is BROWN’s memoir of the remarkable journey of her son, their family, friends and school community through that time. She lives with her husband Neil and daughter Meg in Cape Town, and now works as a volunteer at St Luke’s Hospice.

I AM currently reading Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala, a chance find in a second-hand bookshop.

Wave is Deraniyagala’s memoir of her survival of the devastating tsunami that struck the Sri Lankan coast on Boxing Day of 2004, to live the torment of a life without her two young sons, her husband and parents, all of whom succumbed in the tragedy.

This book is her remembrance of her family through the minute details of motherhood and family life, her years at Cambridge where she met her husband, and the smells, tastes and colours of a happy childhood in Colombo.

Memories which hold unbearable grief and loss, but which ultimately build exquisite pictures of those she loved and are inextricably part of the person that she is.

My previous read was Leo Tolstoy’s epic Anna Karenina.

I loved the old-fashioned pace and tension of the romance between Levin and Kitty, the dilemmas and growth of Tolstoy’s characters.

Yet I was appalled at the rigid societal norms, which doomed Anna’s deeply human need to live an authentic life to such a tragic end. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin is top of the pile next to my bed.

The reviews promise a story about the love of books, book stores and bookish people.

Each chapter also begins with a little book review, specifically with regard to his own life and experiences, by AK Fikry.

Just the anticipation of this read makes me feel happy.