New books on the shelves
We review new offerings from Niq Mhlongo, Elena Ferrante and Mike Nicol
PARADISE IN GAZA
BY NIQ MHLONGO KWELA BOOKS Mpisi Mpisani is apoplectic with rage as he travels from Johannesburg to his home village to bury his mom who, it’s believed, was killed by his father through the use of sorcery. He swears he’ll murder his dad.
However, more tragedy strikes when Mpisi’s eight-year-old son, Giyani, whom he takes on his journey, vanishes. As a migrant worker, Mpisi is soon forced to return to Joburg where he has a second wife, Ntombazi (mother of the missing Giyani), or risk losing his job.
It’s a pain that’s unbearable for the heavily pregnant Ntombazi to bear when Mpisi breaks the news of their son’s mysterious disappearance. She orders him back to the village to find out what happened to their child while strange, supernatural things happen to her as she remains in Soweto. Meanwhile, Khanyisa, Mpisi’s first wife who lives in Gaza, is growing increasingly resentful of Ntombazi.
This is an intriguing story that paints a nuanced picture of rural life, African mythology and how apartheid shaped family dynamics in both rural and urban South Africa. A worthwhile read. – THANDO NDABEZITHA
THE RABBIT HOLE
BY MARK NICOL UMUZI Tons of American dollars for a contract to fix the infrastructure of all the municipalities in South Africa funnelled into a government tender snagged by familyowned Amalfi Civils. There are kickbacks involved – to a director general and a colonel of the State Security Agency to name just a few.
In the era of state capture it sounds all too familiar. But there’s a twist in this tale of corruption. Angela Amalfi, CEO of Amalfi Civils, wants nothing to do with tainted money. Her brother, Rej Ben Ali (he converted to Islam), is the CFO and prepared to fight tooth and nail for this contract. If that means taking out his own sister, so be it.
In the middle of this are PI Fish Pescado, a real surfer boy, and his lover, the alluring ex-spy Vicky Kahn. Like Sleeper, the previous Pescado and Kahn thriller, The Rabbit Hole has a very realistic feel to it, mostly because it’s so topical and there are plenty of locations that readers familiar with Cape Town will recognise.
It ends on a cliffhanger, which is surely an indication that we will see these two characters again sometime in the future. – ANDRÉ J BRINK
THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS
BY ELENA FERRANTE EUROPA Nobody does messy, raw human emotion quite like Elena Ferrante. In this standalone novel – her first since the Neapolitan quartet – the Italian author follows a girl’s turbulent journey into adulthood.
Born to educated, middle-class parents in “the right part” of Naples, Giovanna adores her father – until one day she overhears him complaining about her. In a conversation with her mother, he remarks that Giovanna is starting to resemble Vittoria, his estranged sister whom he loathes and has always described as the epitome of ugliness and spite.
Giovanna becomes obsessed with finding her aunt, who lives in the seedy, working-class side of the city, so she can see for herself how closely she resembles her. After they meet, it soon becomes clear that there are many things that her parents have lied to her about and it turns out Vittoria herself is also maddeningly unreliable. Giovanna has to choose which elements from these conflicting worlds to embrace.
Ferrante’s writing is deceptively simple yet there is so much emotion coded into it, like bombs quietly ticking away in the background. Fans will be utterly enthralled. – JANE VORSTER
THIRTEEN STOREYS
BY JONATHAN SIMS ORION Banyan Court is a towering, 13storey residential development in Tower Hamlets, one of the poorer areas of central London.
It consists of two distinct parts. The front is luxurious and has spacious flats populated mostly by wealthy tenants and owners. The back, which has a separate entrance, is run-down and the tenants there are mostly poor.
At the very top lives the owner, Tobias Fell, a ruthless billionaire who made his fortune without adhering to any moral and ethical standards.
In the last couple of years he has retreated from public life but one day out of the blue he sends out invitations to a dinner party in his penthouse.
All the guests are strangers, even to their host. By the end of the evening, Tobias is dead and none of the guests are willing to say what happened.
This debut novel is a dark and spooky thriller that takes place in a haunted building literally dripping with the blood of ghosts. If you like Stephen King’s novels, you will probably enjoy Thirteen Storeys.
Even though it gave me nightmares I still enjoyed this innovative, twisted tale. – ANDRÉ J BRINK ❑