Book Choice - August 2017

This happy hour Andrew Marjoribanks, Wordsworth Books, gives us awesome fiction and non-fiction reads for the still chilly days of August. Beverley Roos Muller re-reads with glee Gerald Durrell’s The Corfu Trilogy, which includes the delightful My Family and Other Animals. More animals, though not so happily in John Hanks’ richly rewarding review of Philip Limbery’s Dead Zone – Where the Wild Things Were. Vanessa Levenstein is happily engrossed in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arandhati Roy’s first work of fiction since she won the Booker Prize 20 years ago for The God of Small Things, and Jay Heale takes a close look at three locally produced picture books for young readers. Melvyn Minnnar talks to art historian Anna Tietze about her A History of the Iziko South African National Gallery – Reflections on Art and National Identity - the first comprehensive history of the 150 year old South African National Gallery. As always, the mean Mike Fitzjames sets your nerves ajangle with three terrifying crime novels - The Thirst by Jo Nesbo, The Caller by Chris Carter and A Game of Ghosts by John Connolly. Peter Soal takes a hard look at two very different busnessmen – Harry Oppenheimer and Brett Kebble. Finally Ina Paarman, perfectionist, praises Phillippa Cheifitz’s brand new, grand new cookbook: Make it Easy, a collection of her truly tasteful recipes from Woolies Taste magazine.