These are the experience as a prisoner of war at Zonderwater of Romeo's father, Umberto; Ruth's memory of her father checking the list of Holocaust survivors' names, posted outside Salisbury Synagogue, as it was updated; Geraldine's description of her elderly neighbour's drawers full of embroidered linen - his mother's trousseau - unused and perished by time; and Anthony's experience as an Allied gunner officer in Sansepolcro, Italy, during World War 2 when he did not fire on the building that housed Piero della Francesca's mural, the Resurrection, though German soldiers were thought to be in the town.

Hierdie roman, Die Nuwer Testament, volg die doen en late van Fabian, 'n sekuriteitswag by 'n casino aan die Oos-Rand, in sy strewe om iemand van belang te wees. Teen die agtergrond van 'n dorp wat al vir 'n geruime tyd in verval is weens die opskorting van mynaktiwiteite, konstrueer Fabian fabelagtige gebeure en karakters om sy bestaan te verglans. 'n Ondier maak sy opwagting in Fabian se tuin en vorm die spilpunt waarom die daaropvolgende gebeure draai. Mossie, 'n tronkvoël wat pas vrygelaat is, word Fabian se handlanger en saam werk hulle onverpoos om vir die dier 'n hok te bou, hom te voed en vir hom te sorg. Ander karakters wat deel vorm van die intriges sluit in: Merinda, Fabian se vrou, 'n wynsuiper wat 'n pandjieswinkel in die dorp bedryf; Konstand, 'n geheimsinnige besigheidsman wat die dier leer dans en Aviva, Fabian se baas, wat hom 'n verhoging aanbied om mense (die uiteindelike voedingsbron vir die dier) wat selfmoord pleeg op die casinogronde te laat 'verdwyn'. Fabian se aanvanklike medemenslikheid en eerlikheid word deurentyd getoets weens sy behoefte daaraan om suksesvol, eksentriek en belangrik te wees. Tematies ondersoek hierdie roman die vernietigende kringloop van gierigheid. Die ondier in Fabian se tuin verteenwoordig die demoon wat skuil agter kits-selfverryking (o.a. dobbelary). Die lyke van mense wat selfmoord pleeg en later vir die ondier gevoer word, dui op die gemeenskap se verantwoordbaarheid wanneer die samelewing moreel verval omdat finansiële welstand verheerlik word as dié sosiale utopie. Die tematiek strek egter wyer as 'n studie oor moraliteit. Fabian en Mossie se soeke na individualiteit, betekenisvolle verhoudings en 'n behoefte aan eenvoudige en gesonde ouerskap, dryf hulle tot die uiterste van hul intellektuele en kreatiewe vermoë – met waansin as eindresultaat. Die titel van hierdie roman, Die Nuwer Testament, sinspeel op die feit dat die oorhoofse tema van die Nuwe Testament (liefde) ontoepaslik en verouderd is in die fiktiewe dorp waarin die verhaal afspeel. 'n Nuwe messias word in Fabian se tuin gebore en 'n nuwe messias beteken 'n nuwe boodskap – loodreg in teenstelling met die 'uitgediende' weergawe.

Plastic City and Other Stories is a set of inter-connected short stories that capture moments in the lives of members of one family. The stories traverse more than five decades of the family's years lived in Cape Town, South Africa. While the stories are essentially about the individual, greater matters - outwardly beyond the character's experience - affect and influence the decisions, choices and, ultimately, the lives of each character. The collection is underpinned by several themes - the most pertinent being the familial bond which serves as a link between stories and enables the reader to become acquainted with the characters through several perspectives as they recur through-out the collection. There are also other, more subtle themes that fonn a connection between events happening decades apart. A, not entirely unobtrusive, narrator links these independent allegories together via inter-leading pieces, adding another dimension to the collection by virtue of her role as, not only narrator, but also as family member. Nine stories with nine inter-leading chapters make up the collection of Plastic City and Other Stories.

No description available.

Baxter Zevcenko is your average 16-year-old-boy. If by average you mean a possible serial killer, the kingpin of a porn-peddling schoolyard syndicate and the only thing standing in the way of full-scale gang warfare between the two powerful gangs which control Westridge High School. Which may well be what counts for average these days.

Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her. A baby girl would grow up to eat her alive, and a boy, well, members of the Sisterhood don’t have boys. When a senior government official offers her a way out of the monthly sexual rites, the temptation is too great and El strikes a risky deal. She will act as a spy against her own Order in exchange for access to illegal sterilization procedures. But far more is at stake than El realizes, and her own secrets are at risk of being discovered. Star Eater is a 103 000 word secondary world fantasy novel about power, trauma and justice. It explores the burdens and stresses of mother-daughter relationships against a background of political intrigue and environmental crisis. It is also, fundamentally, a novel about friendship.

Includes abstract. / Maal, a collection of short stories, addresses the displacement and state of being of individuals in different cities in Africa and Europe. These individuals often experience nutrition and food as a metaphor of psychological angst, loneliness or consolation. Food is invoked in the title as it can be seen in the actions of, for instance, a character using intravenous drugs, a character literally eating earth, or a character not being able to eat at all. On the other hand, food in its many sophisticated forms can be found in the upper class spaces of Cape Town, Paris, Zurich and other cities, whilst elsewhere it is tellingly absent. It is further investigated as a ritual - both in a familial and social sense - and as a forming and shaping force in the characters' lives, often paradoxically. Maal also refers to the way in which these characters are hurled about by their own existence, by experiences of migration, illness, family intrigue and death. Therefore life becomes a meal and characters themselves are being eaten and ground.

Includes abstract.

The Black South African literary oeuvre has as its dominant background township life. There has been a considerable neglect of village or rural setting. Even the proliferation of writing that has been regarded as depicting genuine African experience has fallen short of remedying this malady. There is a paucity of writings that endeavour to depict rural communities, and even where South African writers attempted to depict rural community, theirs has been an indolent attempt, as evinced by a lack of insight in such writings. One example is Matshoba's Call Me Not A Man. which is merely a glimpse into the rural setting. This shortcoming, coupled with a travesty of the rural setting, suggests a non-existence of the rural community. Whether South African writers, especially, Black writers, eschew rural setting deliberately or not is open to debate. Hence my project has as its paramount aim an endeavour to expose authentic rural realities. This collection, therefore, portrays rural life against the backdrop of city life. This paradoxical juxtapositioning is a deliberate attempt to enable the reader to extricate real-life happenings from both scenarios, and have a sound judgement about his/her observation.

No description available.