Coconut

An important rumination on youth in modern-day South Africa, this haunting debut novel tells the story of two extraordinary young women who have grown up black in white suburbs and must now struggle to find their identities. The rich and pampered Ofilwe has taken her privileged lifestyle for granted, and must confront her swiftly dwindling sense of culture when her soulless world falls apart. Meanwhile, the hip and sassy Fiks is an ambitious go-getter desperate to leave her vicious past behind for the glossy sophistication of city life, but finds Johannesburg to be more complicated and unforgiving than she expected. These two stories artfully come together to illustrate the weight of history upon a new generation in South Africa.

• Mother to Mother (Bluestreak)
• Disgrace: A Novel
• A History of South Africa
• African Perspectives on European Colonialism
• Ways of Dying
• Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir
• Revolution Is My Name: An Egyptian Woman's Diary from Eighteen Days in Tahrir
• Cry, the Beloved Country
• Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
• The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After