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A review by mandyist
Crooks and Straights by Masha du Toit
4.0
I wish I'd written a proper review of this when I read it because it's really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But lockdown...
I'm revisiting the book ahead of reading the sequel and I'm struck by how magical, inventive, interesting and Capetonian it is. Nothing has made me want to move to Cape Town more than this book.
If you've ever lived in South Africa, you'd be forgiven for believing that magic exists. There are fairies flitting about in the corner of your eyes and tokoloshes threatening to cause mayhem.
And if there had been magic a century ago, you can bet that the government would have cracked down on it.
Which is what makes this book and this world so interesting. Because the world of Crooks and Straights cracks down on magic with Apartheid-like precision but it's also an allegory to homophobia, transphobia and all the forms of hatred and inequality that we see in SA today.
I can't wait to dig into Wolf Logic now but thought I'd drop a note to explain why Crooks and Straights should be on your to-read list.
I'm revisiting the book ahead of reading the sequel and I'm struck by how magical, inventive, interesting and Capetonian it is. Nothing has made me want to move to Cape Town more than this book.
If you've ever lived in South Africa, you'd be forgiven for believing that magic exists. There are fairies flitting about in the corner of your eyes and tokoloshes threatening to cause mayhem.
And if there had been magic a century ago, you can bet that the government would have cracked down on it.
Which is what makes this book and this world so interesting. Because the world of Crooks and Straights cracks down on magic with Apartheid-like precision but it's also an allegory to homophobia, transphobia and all the forms of hatred and inequality that we see in SA today.
I can't wait to dig into Wolf Logic now but thought I'd drop a note to explain why Crooks and Straights should be on your to-read list.