South African Country Life – September 2019

YetMoreSweetDays

In 2010,oneofAmerica’smostaccomplished

flyfishingwriters,NickLyoncollatedan

anthologytitledTheBestFishingStoriesEver

To l d, andit includesTheLakesat Inhluzane,

fromTomSutcliffe’sHuntingTrout(2004).

Formanyflyfishers,hereandabroad,that

bookwithitscombinationofanecdoteand

instruction,madeToma mentorwhomthey

thoughttheyknew,evenif theyhadnever

methim.Almosttwodecadeslater,Ye t

MoreSweetDayswilljustifiablyexpandhis

readership.Thisgentle,absorbingbookis

a flyfishingtravelogue,anendearingdiaryof

peopleandplaces.It takesusfromfishing

delicate,split-caneflyrodsat thesourceof

theBokspruitin Rhodes,toswingingdouble-

handedflyrodsforsalmonontheEastRanga

Riverin Iceland.Hecoversthebroadtapestry

offreshwaterflyfishingfortrout,fromthe

esotericminutiaeofflypatterndesignto

explorationsoftheancientJapaneseflyfishing

techniqueof Tenkara.Thisis a bookthat

flyfisherswillreadwithpleasure,learnfrom,

andreturntoagainandagain.Forautographed

copieslinkwithTomthroughhisSpiritofFly

Fishingwebsite.

Author:TomSutcliffeReviewer:EdHerbst

Publisher:BurnetMediaPriceR320ISBN:

978 1 92823 0717 GiveawayCode:SWEET

UndercoverwithMandela’sSpies

Theopeningchapteris dramatic.A young,

whiteschoolboycaughtin thecrossfire,when

23-year-oldBarendStrydomcold-bloodedly

murdersblackpeoplein ChurchSquareon

15 November1988,reliveseverymoment.

A pictureofhimcradlinga bleeding,black

manis splashedacrossthefrontpageof

a newspaperthenextday.Heis traumatised.

Whowouldn’tbe?Hebecomes a thug,

a bouncerforCapeTownnightclubs, bodyguard,

anenforcer.Hispoliticsaremixed up, but his

is a worldoftoughokes.Then a small change

whenheis recruitedtogiveinformation to the

SecurityBranch(SB),thosesinister spooks of

theapartheidgovernment.Not spying as much

asinforming.Thingstakea more interesting

turnwhenheinterrogatesan ANC man and is

laterrecruitedbythepartytospy on the SB as

thecountrygoestowardsdemocracy in 1994.

Thewritingis a bitmelodramatic, but so is his

life.Aninterestingbook,a quick read at

260 broadly-spacedpages.A glimpse into

a worldmostreaders,thankfully, don’t know.

Authors:BradleyD SteynandMark Fine

Reviewer:PeterSullivanPublisher: Jacana

Price:R240ISBN:978-1-43142-755-0

GiveawayCode:SPIES

TheMessiah’sDreamMachine

South-Africabornandraised,and now

Australia-based,JenniferFriedman’s life has

beenfinelyremembered.In a way that bears

outtheSocraticadage,‘Theunexamined life

is notworthliving’,shehassifted through

herprodigiousmemories,reflected on them

forwhattheywere,andare,and given them

fresh,lyricalresonance.In the first part of her

memoir,QueenoftheFreeState, Friedman

coveredherveryearlyyearsgrowing up Jewish

in thestrictlysegregated50s and 60s, and won

theheartsofmanyreaderswho related to her

experiences.In thissequel,first she sets the

scenewithThewaythingsused to be, and

thenthebigblowashermother breaks her

promise,‘I’llneversendyouaway to a boarding

school,’in voicefierceandlow. ‘Never’. The

bookis in sevenparts,asFriedman segues

fromschooltomarriage,tochildren, to life in

IsraelandthenAustralia,interspersed with

unforgettabletripshome.The pages are filled

withcolourfullydrawnrelatives, with dialogue

tomatch.Foranyonecontemplating having

a goat a memoir,heruseofevocative

subheadsis a greatlessonin framing cameo

moments.

Author:JenniferFriedmanReviewer: Nancy

RichardsPublisher:TafelbergPrice: R275 ISBN:

978-0-624-08697-0Giveaway Code: DREAM

BOOKOFTHEMONTH

Lawfare– JudgingPoliticsinSouthAfrica

Thisis a reminderofhowmuchSouthAfricanhistorywaswritten

in thecourtrooms.It’snotasif ourcommonideaofjusticealways

triumphed.Notevenjudgesareabovetheideologicalcurrentsof

theirtime.Andinterpretationofthelawis a matterofargument.But

byandlargeasthebookshows,thejudiciaryhasbeena restraining

forceand,in a countryasrivenbyprejudice,inequalityandinjustice

asours,thatcountsformuch.ThecasescitedtoillustratehowSouth

Africa’sstrugglescarriedintothecourtroomsgobacktothe1950s,whenthenewNationalist

governmentusedeverytrickpossibletogetColouredvotersoffthecommonelectoralroll.

ThebookgoesontodetailhowperilouslyclosetheRivoniaTrialcametoalteringourhistory.

Passingthroughthebattlesforjusticeunderapartheidlaw,andtheexcessesunderemergency

rule,it bringsusrightuptotheturmoilandplunderingofthepresent.Ashappenedbackin

the1950s,judgesareagaingettingaccusedofthwartingthe‘willofthepeople’whenthey

crosstherulers.Thesubjectmightbeheavy,butthelucidwritingofthesetwoeminentjurists

makesit anabsorbingread.Authors:Michellele RouxandDennisDavisReviewer:LeonMarshall

Publisher:JonathanBallPrice:R275ISBN:978-1-86842-960-8GiveawayCode:LAW

GIVEAWAYS

Wearegivingawaytwocopiesofallthebooksreviewedonthispage.SMSthegiveawaycode(egLAW),yourname, email

andphysicaladdressto 48402 before 30 September2019.SMSescostR1.50andfreeSMSesdonotapply.TsandCs on page 85.

September 2019 086 http://www.countrylife.co.za

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