Natasha Hulugalle
The Revolutionary Road
Yates’ charting of the descent of American consciousness away from the cliché of pioneering, blind optimism and exuberance to weary insecurity and alienation is an achievement that reaches beyond any genre.
A Blade of Grass - (Man Booker Prize 2004, Longlist)
It is hard to understand why Desoto insists on setting up his characters with such shallow, oversimplified emotions. It is as if he has never read any previous literature on the subject.
Havoc In Its Third Year - (Man Booker Prize 2004, Longlist)
‘Like the best historical novels, it vividly captures the period yet resonates with the present’, enthuses the hype for Havoc, in its Third Year. It may be a whimsical suggestion, but what exactly is wrong with an old-fashioned swashbuckler that doesn’t resonate with the present?
The Good Doctor - (Man Booker Prize 2003)
Any writer hoping to communicate a bleak or sour understanding of post-apartheid South Africa should accept the likelihood of their work being compared to JM Coetzee. It has therefore become an unwritten rule that any review of The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut must contain such a reference. As a comparison it’s hackneyed, but understandable.
