Latest Titles
-
BLACK DIAMOND
Fiction (Literary Fiction) 248 pages
Penguin (SA) - November 2009
BLACK DIAMOND is a defiantly revealing novel about contemporary SA. By turns sane and insane, evocative and hilarious…the novel further elevates Zakes Mda’s reputation as a robust and relevant storyteller…The profuse humour and pregnant story line – with the democratic present linked to the apartheid past – make BLACK DIAMOND perfect for the big screen.’ The Weekender
BLACK DIAMOND is Zakes Mda’s exuberant new novel, full of his characteristic verve, humour and sense of irony. Set in contemporary Johannesburg the story follows an eclectic cast of characters as they work out their roles in a city where Black Economic Empowerment rules, old stereotypes are smashed, criminals demand revenge on the justice system and protest is a weapon for anyone to use.
Meet Don, the security consultant and his ambitious fiancee, top model Tumi; the unbending magistrate Kirsten Uys who reveals a completely different side to her character when at home alone with her cat; and the criminal Visagie brothers and their supporters led by Ma Visagie and Aunt Magda who bring their own inimitable style to the campaign to free Stevo Visagie from jail. A superbly entertaining read that will have you laughing at yourselves and waiting with baited breath to see who comes out on top. PDF available. -
CION
Fiction (Literary Fiction) 244 pages
Picador - September 2007
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2008
‘In this daring effort, Mda brings South Africa and the land where he teaches, the United States, together – Cry the Beloved Country meets Beloved.’ -- The Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Mda is at his matchless best…an essential companion piece to such 20th century masterpieces as Faulkner’s ABSALOM, ABSALOM ! and Toni Morrison’s BELOVED and SONG OF SOLOMON…A great African writer’s great American novel. A stunning book.’ -- Starred Kirkus Review
‘In this exuberant follow-up to Ways of Dying, the celebrated South African novelist and playwright Mda once again centers his story upon the professional mourner Toloki-this time, as he makes his way through a sad and surreal America…Cross-cutting between the slave story and Toloki's experiences, the book offers a rich and original picture of the United States on both a personal and grander historical level and is suffused with the same lyricism, vividness and dark, tragic wit that have earned the author previous recognition here and in his homeland.' -- Publisher's Weekly -
THE WHALE CALLER
Fiction (Literary Fiction)
Longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Award 2007
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize Africa Region 2006.
210pp.
‘A man, a woman and a whale enact an eerie love triangle in this dreamlike fifth novel…A beguiling amalgam of fiction, religious parable, animal fable and moral argument.’ -- Starred Kirkus Review
‘An elusive allegory, it begins like an optimistic counterpoint to JM Coetzee’s LIFE AND TIMES OF MICHAEL K. Mda’s unemployed and uneducated heroes carve out a life of startling, almost magical beauty.’ -- Jason Overdorf, Newsweek
‘A wise and seductive tale of love and jealousy, THE WHALE CALLER also hints at the precarious euphoria of a society in transition.' -- Maya Jaggi, The Guardian
Biography
Zakes Mda is a South African writer, painter, composer and film maker. He commutes between South Africa and the U.S., working as a professor of creative writing at Ohio University, beekeeper in the Eastern Cape, a dramaturge at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, and a director of the Southern African Multimedia AIDS Trust in Sophiatown, Johannesburg.
Useful links
Related news
- Zakes Mda writes on climate change for the New York Times
- Zakes Mda's memoirs to Farrar Straus & Giroux
- 3 Blake Friedmann titles shortlisted for Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2008
View all book clients