The Interpreters

Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka’s debut novel tells the story of a group of friends facing political corruption and cultural uncertainty in post-independence Nigeria. Friends since high school, Egbo, Bandele, Sagoe, Sekoni and Kola have returned to Lagos after studying abroad. As they navigate wild parties, affairs of the heart, philosophical debates, and professional dilemmas, they struggle to reconcile the cultural traditions and Western influences that have shaped them – and that still divide their country. In The Interpreters , Soyinka deftly weaves memories of the past through scenes of the present as the friends move toward an uncertain future. The result is a vividly realised fictional world rendered in prose that pivots easily from satire to tragedy. 'No other writer has Soyinka's unique positioning in the political and cultural life of his nation.' Ben Okri 'Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian icon.' Guardian 'Elaborately, strikingly and indeed often beautifully written.' The Times

Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka’s debut novel tells the story of a group of friends facing political corruption and cultural uncertainty in post-independence Nigeria. Friends since high school, Egbo, Bandele, Sagoe, Sekoni and Kola have returned to Lagos after studying abroad. As they navigate wild parties, affairs of the heart, philosophical debates, and professional dilemmas, they struggle to reconcile the cultural traditions and Western influences that have shaped them – and that still divide their country. In The Interpreters , Soyinka deftly weaves memories of the past through scenes of the present as the friends move toward an uncertain future. The result is a vividly realised fictional world rendered in prose that pivots easily from satire to tragedy. 'No other writer has Soyinka's unique positioning in the political and cultural life of his nation.' Ben Okri 'Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian icon.' Guardian 'Elaborately, strikingly and indeed often beautifully written.' The Times

Across three decades of democracy, South Africa has seen an outpouring of longform, narrative journalism and creative nonfiction - genres in which some of the country's finest writers have tried to make sense of a complex and changing society. This brand new, one-of-a-kind anthology collects some of the best literary nonfiction published since the end of apartheid, carefully selected and introduced by editors Sean Christie and Hedley Twidle. From the underworld of zama zama goldminers to the tragicomic closure of a Cape Town zoo, from stick fighting to punk rock, game lodges to fruit farms, cricket pitches to mermaids, The Interpreters: South Africa's New Nonfiction assembles a range of true stories that are as compelling as any fiction. Literary nonfiction in South Africa has often been found at the margins of our media - in zines, journals, now defunct magazines and personal blogs. It is a kind of writing that has, in general, not made much financial sense - more a medium for those obsessed with pursuing a single story over months or years. In The Interpreters , the editors have combed through 30 years of post-apartheid writing to produce a collection that combines preeminent names with lesser known but no less immersive and powerful works of creative journalism - disparate views and voices that, when read together, have created a new topography of South Africa's recent past. Featuring J. M. Coetzee - Kimon de Greef - William Dicey - Alexandra Dodd - Madeleine Fullard - Mark Gevisser - Anna Hartford - Anton Harber - Michiel Heyns - Dani?l Hugo - Anton Kannemeyer - Bongani Kona - Rustum Kozain - Antjie Krog - Alastair Laird - Adrian Leftwich - Lidudumalingani - Bongani Madondo - Rian Malan - Zanele Mji - Mogorosi Motshumi - Nosisi Mpolweni - Julie Nxadi - Njabulo S Ndebele - Lindokuhle Nkosi - Sean O'Toole - Kopano Ratele - Warren Raysdorf - Srila Roy - Lin Sampson - Kwanele Sosibo - Jonny Steinberg - Niren Tolsi - Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon - Roger Young - Percy Zvomuya

Across three decades of democracy, South Africa has seen an outpouring of longform, narrative journalism and creative nonfiction - genres in which some of the country's finest writers have tried to make sense of a complex and changing society. This brand new, one-of-a-kind anthology collects some of the best literary nonfiction published since the end of apartheid, carefully selected and introduced by editors Sean Christie and Hedley Twidle. From the underworld of zama zama goldminers to the tragicomic closure of a Cape Town zoo, from stick fighting to punk rock, game lodges to fruit farms, cricket pitches to mermaids, The Interpreters: South Africa's New Nonfiction assembles a range of true stories that are as compelling as any fiction. Literary nonfiction in South Africa has often been found at the margins of our media - in zines, journals, now defunct magazines and personal blogs. It is a kind of writing that has, in general, not made much financial sense - more a medium for those obsessed with pursuing a single story over months or years. In The Interpreters , the editors have combed through 30 years of post-apartheid writing to produce a collection that combines preeminent names with lesser known but no less immersive and powerful works of creative journalism - disparate views and voices that, when read together, have created a new topography of South Africa's recent past. Featuring J. M. Coetzee - Kimon de Greef - William Dicey - Alexandra Dodd - Madeleine Fullard - Mark Gevisser - Anna Hartford - Anton Harber - Michiel Heyns - Dani?l Hugo - Anton Kannemeyer - Bongani Kona - Rustum Kozain - Antjie Krog - Alastair Laird - Adrian Leftwich - Lidudumalingani - Bongani Madondo - Rian Malan - Zanele Mji - Mogorosi Motshumi - Nosisi Mpolweni - Julie Nxadi - Njabulo S Ndebele - Lindokuhle Nkosi - Sean O'Toole - Kopano Ratele - Warren Raysdorf - Srila Roy - Lin Sampson - Kwanele Sosibo - Jonny Steinberg - Niren Tolsi - Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon - Roger Young - Percy Zvomuya