Ndumiso Ngcobo

Ngcobo was stuck in a job, which he didn't consider a "real job":- he managed people with real jobs and reported on what they did (ha! there he had my attention!). What he really wanted to do was: "... to sit in a room and have people ask me my opinion on anything and everything.". This book was the result of that ambition.

The original title for this book was meant to be Just Talking Shit to the Animals. A title I would have considered to be more accurate. But then, it probably would not have caught my eye as this one did.

I suspect that you have to be South African, or at least to have lived in South Africa, to appreciate this book. (For starters, the book is peppered with South African slang.) But if you are, there is plenty to make you giggle and cringe and squirm. Beware though, if you prefer your writing to be “politically correct” and are uncomfortable with racial stereotypes, this book is not for you.

Some of the topics covered are:
- Nostalgia for the township but you wouldn't want to move back there.
- What it is really like to drive in one of those kamikaze minicab taxis.
- Comparison between black designer clad free loaders and penny pinching whites.
- An original proposal to deal with petty crime.
- Craziness in corporate life.
- Zulus and violence.
- Black women.
- The Indian community.
- Democracy.
- Affirmative action.

I am giving 3 stars because not all the essays are equally good. Not on a par with Herman Charles Bosman, as Fred Khumalo says in the foreword. Sorry, Fred, I beg to differ. But readable he definitely is.

… (altro)