The Texture of Shadows

I have just finished reading Mandla Langa's The Texture of Shadows which, in his own words, "speaks of the invincibility of the human spirit. The possibility for people to go for broke and do things even if there is no reward." Amen to that! A great read. A powerful and unromantic account of the liberation struggle in South Africa. It is beautifully written—Mandla is both writer and poet. Check out the interview with him here and then get hold of the book. I have finished Textures on the day when Russell Mills has started work on designing the cover for Left Field. Mandla kindly offered a comment on me which will appear in Russell's work. I quoted from Mandla's book in my chapter, 'Rainbows' which is about my meeting Nelson Mandela: "Towering above his escorts, he was the freest man on earth, freer, certainly, than his captors who’d have to wrestle with their souls as cat’s paws of unjust power." Eugene Skeef introduced my own work to Mandla. Eugene is not on my book's cover, but he gets a whole chapter to himself!

Mandla Langa was winner of the 2009 Commonwealth Prize with his novel, The Lost Colours of the Chameleon