Short description
Set in Hillbrow during the tumultuous years of apartheid's demise, the rapid changes taking place both in the neighbourhood and the country are charted by staid, conservative Aubrey Tearle, a retired proofreader whose life has been devoted to reading tele
Long description
Set in Hillbrow during the tumultuous years of apartheid's demise, the rapid changes taking place both in the neighbourhood and the country are charted by staid, conservative Aubrey Tearle, a retired proofreader whose life has been devoted to reading telephone directories. Obsessed with what he terms 'corrigenda' / mistakes that crop up with increasing frequency as 'standards decline' / he embarks on a grandiose plan to enlighten his fellow/citizens, with disastrous, hilarious and poignant results. Demonstrating a Cervantes/like knack for creating innocents who tilt at windmills, Vladislavic continues to demonstrate the dazzling and unique talent seen in his previous writings as he explores the age/old theme of how individuals respond when 'things fall apart' / and what can occur when language itself is in a state of flux.