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VOLUME 38 WINNING FORMULA Three perceptions that redefine success F RESH START Bright flavours to energise body, mind and table H IDDEN TRUTHS Inside the mysteries of Dan Brown’s thrillers F ADING ICONS Protecting our majestic endangered creatures SIFO THE COOKING HUSBAND THE MAGAZINE ABOUT BOOKS FOR BOOK LOVERS THE PENGUIN POST YOUR FREE COPY! MAN ENOUGH TO COOKBOOKS TO BLOW YOUR MINDDear reader Heritage is not only what we inherit, but what we choose to pass on. In this issue, we explore the quiet yet powerful ways legacy shapes our lives – through stories, food, courage, and memory. Our delightful cover star Sinoyolo Sifo reminds us that heritage can be served warm: in recipes rooted in family, simplicity, and honesty, each plate carrying memory into the present. Gareth Crocker reflects on how a mother’s determination built a career in words, proving legacy is often forged by grit. Dan Brown’s writing shows how history itself can be reshaped into thrilling, cinematic fiction, while Chanette Paul and Erla Diedericks remind us that stories of mystery are also stories of the human spirit. We face unsettling legacies too, from Liezel de Jager’s haunting murder case to the fight to save our lions and birds from silence. Yet, as Greg Mills, Tebogo ‘ProVerb’ Thekisho and Myan Subrayan show, true success lies not in trophies but in resilience, presence, and love. And through food, seasons, and even fleeting ‘glimmers’, we find heritage in the everyday – alive, nourishing, and worth protecting. This issue is our celebration of legacy in all its forms – the ones we honour, the ones we question, and the ones we create. Happy heritage month – and happy reading! contents 02 BOOKSCAPE Arundhati Roy’s first memoir, the book dominating the bestseller lists and five minutes with Richard Osman 06 COVER Sinoyolo Sifo reflects on family, food, and the quiet power of legacy 10 AT MY DESK Gareth Crocker’s humble beginnings with words and the best new fiction 14 FICTION Decoding Dan Brown’s writing 16 AFRIKAANS Agter donker raaisels: twee spanningskonninginne oor inspirasie, en ’n skokkende werklike saak wat die nasie verbyster het 20 NATURE Two powerful pieces explore what’s at stake when iconic wildlife faces extinction 24 SPECIAL Three compelling takes on the definition of success 27 FOOD Celebrate the season of renewal with fresh, flavourful recipes 32 ON MY MIND Bridget McNulty reminds us that heritage lives in even the smallest of glimmers Johannesburg | Growthpoint Business Park, Unit 12A, 162 Tonetti Street, Halfway House Ext 7, Midrand, 1685 | 011 327 3550 Cape Town | Estuaries No 4, Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue, Century City, 7441 | 021 460 5400 © Copyright Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd. The Penguin Post is published by Penguin Random House South Africa. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the editor is strictly forbidden. Editor Lauren Mc Diarmid Designer Sean Robertson Sub Editor Frieda Le Roux Contributors Luzanne Warren, Richard Osman, Sinoyolo Sifo, Gareth Crocker, Chanette Paul, Erla Diedericks, Greg Mills, Myan Subrayan, Bridget McNulty Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Lauren Mc Diarmid ThePost@penguinrandomhouse.co.za 20VOLUME 38 2 bookscape news | snippets | what’s new The Booker-winner’s first memoir, Mother Mary Comes To Me is a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the writer she is, shaped by circumstance, but above all, by her complex relationship with her extraordinary, singular mother she describes as “my shelter and my storm”. “Heart-smashed” by her mother Mary’s death in September 2022, puzzled and “more than a little ashamed” by the intensity of her response, Arundhati Roy began to write, to make sense of her feelings about the mother she ran from at age eighteen, “not because I didn’t love her, but in order to be able to continue to love her”. And so begins this astonishing, often disturbing and surprisingly funny memoir of the author’s life from childhood to the present, from Kerala to Delhi. “I have been writing this book all my life,” said Roy. “Perhaps a mother like mine deserved a writer like me as a daughter. Equally, perhaps a writer like me deserved a mother like her. Even more than a daughter mourning the passing of her mother, I mourn her as a writer who has lost her most enthralling subject.” With the scale, sweep and depth of her novels, The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and the passion, political clarity, and warmth of her essays, Mother Mary Comes To Me is an ode to freedom, a tribute to thorny love and savage grace – a memoir like no other. Everyone’s talking about … The incredible first memoir from Arundhati Roy IT’S FREE! Visit www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/ penguin-post and sign up to receive each new edition directly to your inbox. Mother Mary Comes To Me is out now. DOMINATING THE BESTSELLER LISTS Air by John Boyne “The various facets of trauma, love and the ultimate act of forgiveness is superbly highlighted in this little gem of a book. I found it to be the epitome of John Boyne’s writing; a masterclass in everything a reader wants an author to be.” Fiona de Goede, ArtSMartVOLUME 38 3 UPFRONT Luzanne Warren describes herself as a coffee-fuelled chaos queen, fantasy fangirl (because dragons and drama are non- negotiable), and the creative heart behind Reading Caffeinated . Her goal? To bring a little magic to the book world – one review (and dramatic gasp) at a time. “Holmes is Missing by James Patterson and Brian Sitts blends the razor-sharp intelligence of a classic detective mystery with the breathless pacing of a modern thriller – and it works brilliantly. From the very first page, the story hooks you with its urgency: six newborns have vanished from a New York hospital. The team – Holmes, Margaret, and Poe – have always taken on the cases no one else can solve. But this time, their most brilliant mind is missing. The absence of Holmes isn’t just part of the mystery; it becomes the emotional core of the book. As Margaret and Poe unravel this chilling crime across continents, you can feel the weight of that loss. The writing is brisk and addictive, with short chapters, clipped dialogue, and that signature Patterson style: every scene pulls you forward. But within the action, there’s real heart. This is a story about loyalty, partnership, and what it means to chase the truth – even when it hurts.” Holmes is Missing is out now. MUST of the MONTH A hamper of books from this issue valued at R1 500 is up for grabs to one lucky reader. To enter, scan the code using your phone camera, or visit www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/ competitions. Ts & Cs apply. Entries close 31 October 2025. WIN! WIN! WIN! OUT IN PAPERBACK NEXUS by Yuval Noah Harari A gripping exploration of how information has shaped humanity, and the urgent choices we face as power, truth, and technology collide in an increasingly fragile world. ODYSSEY by Stephen Fry The war is over, but homecoming brings new trials – vengeful queens, wrathful gods, and perilous journeys test heroes in Fry’s riveting final retelling of love, loss, and fate after Troy’s fall. 4.5k followers @reading_caffeinated #bookstagram IN TOO DEEP by Lee Child & Andrew Child Jack Reacher wakes up injured, shackled, and with no memory – mistaken for a criminal by captors who have no idea who they’re dealing with. They want answers. He wants payback. Badly. Douglas Kruger, Wicked Smart Three [techniques], if mastered, would make people significantly more capable than most leaders alive. The first is to ask more questions. Less knowing, more wondering. The second is to understand that ‘they can’t hear the music in your head’. The third is the simplest of all but yields the greatest returns: ‘Go there and look.’VOLUME 38 4 UPFRONT Five minutes with … RICHARD OSMAN The Thursday Murder Club gang seems to be navigating more personal challenges than ever before – grief, family drama, even wedding planning. How did you balance emotional depth with your signature humour in this book? The Thursday Murder Club books have always been about the characters rather than about the crime. These four unlikely friends are from very different places and the joy of writing more books is being able to go into greater and greater depth with these four characters that I love. Them, alongside the revolving supporting cast that is constantly in their orbit. Love, laughter, tears and murder all come from characters that we care about, and I hope that’s always been the strength of this series. The phrase “an uncrackable code” feels like a nod to classic spy thrillers. What inspired the espionage twist in The Impossible Fortune, and did you do any special research into cryptography? I can exclusively reveal that I did no research at all into cryptography. The bestselling author reveals how he balances humour and heartbreak, dives into spy-style codes, and gives fan-favourite Ron the spotlight he’s long deserved in the latest Thursday Murder Club book. The Impossible Fortune hits shelves this September. I just like setting and cracking codes. Once I knew that something very valuable was buried deep underground, I wanted to make it as hard as possible to find. As to whether the codes are uncrackable, I imagine that readers and the TMC might have their own opinion on that … Joyce is knee-deep in wedding logistics this time – how fun was it to write her in full “mother-of- the-bride” mode? The relationship between Joyce and Joanna is one of my favourites in all the TMC books, and to deepen their relationship, their love for each other and their almost constant inability to have a grown-up conversation with each other was a joy to write and I hope will resonate with mothers and grown-up children everywhere. Elizabeth has always been the steely, no-nonsense one. How did it feel to explore her in a more vulnerable space this time around, especially with grief playing a role? Steely unemotional characters are all well and good but, just like in life, when someone is steely and unemotional it’s because they’re hiding pain. Elizabeth now has three friends who help strip away those tough outer layers, and I find it very moving to see what is revealed. She is still steely and tough, of course, but we can see where that comes from. You once said you wanted each book to stand on its own but also deepen the world for returning readers. What layer does The Impossible Fortune add to the TMC universe? Gosh that’s a good question. I felt like I hadn’t written a book that centred Ron yet. And that, for some readers, he may still feel like a broadly comic character. I put that right here, I hope. GOBBLEFUNKING GREAT READS FOR HUMAN BEANS OF ALL SIZES! © 2025 The Roald Dahl Story Company Ltd / Quentin Blake www.roalddahl.com @roald_dahl @roald_dahlOur favourite cooking husband, Sinoyolo Sifo reflects on family, food, and the quiet power of legacy. Through simple recipes and tender memories, he shares how heritage lives on – served warm, one plate at a time. A LEGACY SERVEDCOVER VOLUME 38 7 “W hen I think about home, I think about warmth – both the feeling in your heart and the smell of something good simmering on the stove. I think about samp, beans, and meat slowly cooking together, and the laughter of my family drifting around a fire outside. I grew up in Mthatha, where food wasn’t just something to fill our bellies, it was part of how we showed love. Everyone helped cook. Everyone ate together. And that sense of togetherness has never left me. My family situation growing up was a bit complicated – lots of half- and step-siblings – but my dad never saw it that way. To him, we were just brothers and sisters. He made sure we all felt like one family. He believed in unity, in tradition, and in hard work. He taught us those things through gardening, helping at the family butchery, and learning how to care for the land that fed us. At the time, I didn’t always appreciate it. It felt like work. But now I see it was the beginning of something much bigger – something I carry with me in everything I do. I didn’t always know I wanted to be a cook. The interest only showed up when I was at varsity. But the lessons were planted long before then – literally. My father always reminded us that food doesn’t just appear on the plate. It comes from the soil, from sweat, and most of all, from love. That’s something I still hold close. One day, I’d love to own a farm where I can grow my own food and invite people to share meals fresh from the earth. Not just a restaurant, but a place where people can taste where I come from.Next >