I Bet I Can Make a Niq Mhlongo Fan Out of You!

best African writers — Author Niq Mhlongo

I want to make a bet with you, dear reader.

If you can make it through a book by Niq Mhlongo and walk away without becoming a Niq Mhlongo fan, I’ll give you 50 Rand.

To get it, you’ll have to give me specific examples from the book and use them to explain why you aren’t a fan.

In the weird, off-chance that there is some jealous, crazy, bizarre, anti-Niq movement out there, I’m gonna’ cap this at the first five readers who tell me they aren’t a fan (with cited reasoning.)

But I bet there won’t be one single taker.

Why?

Because you can’t read Mhlongo’s work without being changed in some way, and when someone changes you, it’s nearly impossible not to have appreciation for that.

Oh, and also… Niq kicks ass.

His stories are original. His characters are like Soweto itself—the bruised, bloodied, pounding and resilient heart of South Africa. To read Niq is to become one with this country and its (sometimes wayward, always indelible) characters.

Also, Niq is cool. Really cool. Niq is so cool that he has agreed, like our previous authors (Futhi Ntshingila, Nthikeng Mohlele and Phillippa Yaa de Villiers) to answer your questions!

And guess what else? I will be giving away a signed copy of one of Niq’s books to the winner, but this time the winner gets to choose which book, and have it inscribed just for you. How’s that? Well, it’s because I’m busy, and Niq’s busy. Since I won’t have a chance to see him to get it signed before the October post, you benefit from a personal inscription when I do finally get together with him after the post. How’s that for a win-win-win? You get to read an amazing book, you get to ask the author questions, and you’re entered for a personalized book from Niq!

How does it work?

Read one of his books, send me your questions for Niq, and he will answer! Sending a question gets you in the drawing for that signed book! You have until Wednesday, 14 October to read and submit your questions to marla@marlasinkdruzgal.com, and then this in-demand author will be off to Europe to attend to his followers there.

For details about this online book club, or how to become a featured reader, just click on the underlined words in this sentence.

Books by Niq Mhlongo:

Dog Eat Dog

Dingz is an average Wits student – struggling with money, partying with his friends, picking up girls, skipping lectures, making up elaborate excuses for missing exams. A bright, articulate guy, Dingz and his circle of friends sit around drinking and discussing current affairs – Aids, racism, South African politics and history – in between being kidnapped by taxi-drivers, contracting gonorrhoea and trying to fake a death certificate.

This is an authentic, witty slice-of-life set at the time of the first democratic elections, full of interesting perceptions and vivid descriptions, and well-drawn and believable characters.

All in all, an exciting manuscript and a lively read; the narrator has a humorous, wry voice, perceptive and cynical. A glimpse into the lives of the “kwaito generation”, both in the township and on campus.

After Tears

Bafana (nicknamed Advo for advocate), is a young man with a weight on his shoulders. After flunking his law studies at UCT, he now has to find a way to either admit the truth to his family, or somehow find a job that will allow him to continue fooling them.

Soon after his arrival back home in Soweto he meets up with a Nigerian guy named Yomi who promises to help him solve all his problems. What should Bafana do? Should he bite the bullet and confess the truth to his mother and uncle, or should he rather take up Yomi’s suggestion to buy a law degree and start practicing as an attorney?

A piercingly funny yet poignant novel by the author of Dog Eat Dog.

Way Back Home

I, Kimathi Fezile Tito, do solemnly declare that I am a soldier of the South African revolution. I am a volunteer fighter, committed to the struggle for justice. I place myself in the service of the people, The Movement and its allies.

13 August 1986, Angola

Kimathi Tito has it all. As a child of the revolution, born in exile in Tanzania, he has steadily accumulated wealth and influence since arriving in South Africa in 1991. But even though everything appears just peachy from outside the walls of his mansion in Bassonia, things are far from perfect for Comrade Kimathi. After a messy divorce, accelerated by his gambling habit and infidelities, he is in danger of losing everything. And now, to top it all, he’s seeing ghosts. Sometimes what happens in exile doesn’t stay in exile.

A caustic critique of South Africa’s political elite from the author of Dog Eat Dog and After Tears (both recently reissued).

To order these books in America, please click here for Amazon, or here for Barnes & Noble.

Happy Writer Wednesday, folks!

Love, MarLa

Upcoming Books:

*Please note: Due to transportation time to send books to the states, I needed to shuffle the order of the next few titles. Please begin reading one of Niq Mhlongo’s books for our October Book Club. Links to upcoming titles below…

November: Mzilikazi wa Afrika
Book(s): Nothing Left to Steal
Read-by Date: 11 November 2015 PRE-ORDER ASAP by emailing marla@marlasinkdruzgal.com . This book is currently only available as an e-book in the states, but I can ship a paperback to you from South Africa.

December: Mandla Langa
Book(s): The Texture of Shadows and The Lost Colours of the Chameleon
Read-by-Date: 16 December 2015 PRE-ORDER ASAP by emailing marla@marlasinkdruzgal.com . This book is currently only available as an e-book in the states, but I can ship a paperback to you from South Africa.

January through May, 2016
Thando Mgqolozana: A Man Who is Not a Man
Mamle Wolo: The Kaya-Girl – Please email me to pre-order this book. It is not yet available in the states. I have purchased several copies for my readers.
Carol Campbell: Esther’s House
Ekow Duker: Dying in New York
Wame Molefhe: Go Tell the Sun
Sabata-mpho Mokae: Kanakotsame: In My Times – Please email me to pre-order this book. It is not yet available in the states. I have purchased several signed copies for my readers.

MarLa Sink Druzgal

Freelance Creative Professional