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THE MAGAZINE ABOUT BOOKS FOR BOOK LOVERS FESTIVE FOOD Your Christmas Day menu is here FIVE MINUTES WITH John Boyne on his Elements series NATURAL GETAWAYS Where the nature gurus go on holiday EXPLOSIVE EXTRACT Mathews Phosa’s tell-all memoir THE MAGAZINE ABOUT BOOKS FOR BOOK LOVERS WIN! A BOOK STACK TO THE VALUE OF R1 000! ART OF KINDNESS Five years of Charlie Mackesy’s heartwarming story THE TENDER YOUR FREE COPY! VOLUME 3Welcome! contents 02 BOOKSCAPE A new Jojo Moyes, and five minutes with John Boyne 06 COVER Charlie Mackesy and his four beloved characters 11 AT MY DESK John le Carré’s son continues his legacy, and top new fiction 14 SPECIAL Animals and art have always been cornerstones of James Norbury’s life 16 AFRIKAANS As Kersvader raad nodig het 18 WELLBEING Let go of unnecessary distractions and embrace the present 19 EXTRACT Yuval Harari asks if we have any way of controlling the age of AI 20 INSIDER Read an extract from Mathews Phosa’s Witness to Power, which chronicles his journey through South Africa’s political upheavals 22 NATURE Renowned nature authors share their favourite summer escapes 25 FOOD Our gift to you arrived early: your festive menu is here! 34 ON MY MIND Thinking about Christmas stirs feelings of nostalgia in Siphokazi Jonas 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 John Boyne, Charlie Mackesy, Nick Harkaway, James Norbury, Suretha Dorse, Cliff Dorse, Willem Frost, Rupert Watson, Nick Newman, Johan Marais, Siphokazi Jonas Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.C OVER PHOTOGRAPH: David Leyes to the special Loot Festive edition of The Penguin Post. As we head into the season of giving, spread the love of reading by choosing the perfect gift for family and friends, with everything from fiction to politics, cookbooks to nature, and more! And in the spirit of giving, courtesy of Penguin Random House, inside you can stand a chance to win a book hamper worth R1000. Get sucked into thrilling new fiction, including the latest gripping adventures featuring Jack Reacher, Alex Cross and George Smiley as well as the critically-acclaimed new novel from Richard Powers, the Pulitzer Prize– winning author of The Overstory. And for lovers of Afrikaans, there are the most recent bestsellers from Martin Steyn, Chanette Paul, Eben Venter, Marie Lotz and more. For the enlightened and intellectual, Zen Buddhist monk Shunmyo Masuno teaches us the art of releasing what we can’t control, and renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari explores how information networks have shaped our past and now threaten our future. And in the never-ending battle between past and future, former ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa chronicles his journey from exile and leadership to navigating alliances and conflicts, as well as offering insider insights into the country’s ruling party. Festive season is a great time for cooking and entertaining, so be sure to check out the hottest new cookbooks from Jamie Oliver, Dianne Bibby, Fatima Saib, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, Sally Andrew and more, including some very special recipes inside! This year so far has been filled with memorable reads and captivating memories, and we wish you a safe and prosperous holiday season filled with more of both! Carlisle Johnson Book Category Manager, Loot.co.zaTHE PENGUIN POST 2 bookscape news | snippets | what’s new +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DOMINATING THE BESTSELLER LISTS The beloved international bestselling author Jojo Moyes is back with a heartwarming and emotionally charged novel that critics are calling her best work to date. Known for penning hits like Me Before You and The Giver of Stars, Moyes’ latest release promises to be an unforgettable story of family, forgiveness, and the ties that bind us all. Set against a backdrop of broken relationships and unexpected reunions, the book introduces readers to Lila Kennedy, a woman grappling with more challenges than she can count. With a crumbling house, a career that’s slipping away, two rebellious daughters, and an elderly stepfather who has settled in unannounced, Lila’s life is already at a tipping point. But when her estranged father – who vanished to Hollywood thirty-five years ago – shows up on her doorstep hoping to reconcile, it feels like the final straw. As Lila wrestles with whether to let her father back into her life, Moyes skilfully explores themes of love, forgiveness, and what it truly means to be family. In a surprising twist, this long- lost parent might just have something valuable to offer, teaching Lila that sometimes, healing comes from the unlikeliest of places. The buzz around this new release is a testament to Jojo Moyes’ enduring appeal. With her novels translated into 46 languages and over 57 million copies sold worldwide, she has solidified her place as one of the most beloved authors of contemporary fiction. And this latest book is a poignant reminder of why she remains at the top of the literary game. Everyone’s talking about … JOJO MOYES’ BEST BOOK SO FAR “The Tea Merchant blends historical fiction with cultural exploration. It is a tale of inheritance, landlessness, love and the origins of the cherished Rooibos tea. It transcends a mere love story, delving into themes of community life, loss, grief, racial dynamics, heritage and belonging.” Lesego Makgatho, The Star PHOTOGRAPHS: Claudia Janke We All Live Here hits shelves in February 2025. IT’S FREE! Visit www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/ penguin-post and sign up to receive each new edition directly to your inbox.THE PENGUIN POST 3 UPFRONT Meg Orton is a freelance writer, and content editor who lives at the beach but hardly ever swims because she’s too busy watching horror movies, adopting animals, and trying to read all the books cluttering her shelves. “The Gathering by C.J. Tudor takes place in the fictional Alaskan small town of Deadhart; home to a collection of eclectic characters, a violent history, and a long-suffering (in)tolerance for the neighbouring vampyr colony, run by a centuries-old vampyr who looks eerily like a little girl. When a teenage boy is found murdered in the same way as another teen boy 25 years prior, the authorities send Detective Barbara Atkins to the soon-to-be snowed-in town. There she is met with distrust by the locals, and painted as a ‘vampyr sympathiser’. As the bodies start piling up, the only person on her side is Jensen Tucker, a hermit, and the former Sheriff of Deadhart, and they are running out of time to save both the town and the Colony. C.J. Tudor is one of my favourite horror authors, not only because she writes scary fiction, but because her characters don’t just walk off the page, they also crawl, slither, and do whatever else monsters do.” MUST of the MONTH A hamper of books from this issue valued at R1 000 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 December 2024. WIN! WIN! WIN! OUT IN PAPERBACK The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child A man falls to his death under mysterious circumstances, drawing Jack Reacher into a dangerous investigation involving a 23-year-old secret, and the attention of the Secretary of Defense. Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz Evan Smoak returns, this time tasked with finding a little girl’s lost dog, but the mission spirals into a high- stakes chase, pitting him against a deadly assassin who mirrors his every move. 4.3k followers @transkeimeg #bookstagram The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen Maggie Bird, a retired spy turned chicken farmer, is forced to revisit her past when a body appears on her driveway. With her ex-spy friends, the ‘Martini Club,’ she unravels a deadly mystery. So you’ve been hurt. And yes, you’ve been scarred. I get you. I’ve been there too. Yet may I humbly suggest that you celebrate your scars. And worship your wounds. Because they have served you beautifully. Robin Sharma, The Wealth Money Can’t BuyTHE PENGUIN POST 4 UPFRONT Five minutes with … JOHN BOYNE What inspired you to write the Elements series, and how do you feel it differs from your previous works? I’d written a lot of long novels in the past and wanted to focus on something shorter, which ultimately resulted in the novella Water. However, when I was writing Water, I realised that the theme I was exploring, that of sexual abuse, could be looked at from various different angles. As the novella was titled for one of the elements, the idea came to me that I could write four books based on each of the four elements – water, earth, fire, and air – with connected characters and themes. Tell us more about the latest book in the series. While the first two novellas, Water and Earth, are narrated by characters who are either enabling or complicit in abuse, Fire takes the perspective of a perpetrator. It’s narrated by a middle-aged woman, ostensibly successful in In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition. Fire is out now. life; a surgeon, who prays on innocent teenage boys. Through her eyes we discover why she commits these crimes and the traumatic past that has led her to this awful place. Can you elaborate on how the elements are represented in each book and what they symbolise? The elements are represented by themes that run through each of the books. In Water, for example, the setting is a small island off the West Coast of Ireland. Willow, the narrator, is surrounded by water. Her husband was a swimming coach. She is the mother of a drowned girl. In Earth, the narrator, Evan, comes from a farming background. He is a footballer and spends much of his time on pitches. In Fire, Freya, the narrator, is a plastic surgeon, specialising in those who have suffered burns. Each symbolises the philosophical building blocks of human existence, as the four books themselves are a unified attempt on my part to understand some of the darker aspects of our lives. How does writing a series compare to writing standalone novels? It was a very interesting experience for me because I knew that the first two novellas would probably be published before the fourth was even completed, so there would be no opportunity on my part to go back and change anything that I had written before. Therefore each novella had to work as a standalone story, independent of the other three books, while also feeling fully connected to the project as a unified whole. I’ve written about abuse before. As a person who experienced sexual abuse during my teenage years at school, I was able to draw on my own experiences and the damage that it did me. It’s very different drawing on such things than researching for a historical novel. It’s more personal. And it’s cathartic. PHOTOGRAPHS: Rich GilliganCharlie Mackesy is the author of the heartwarming story, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. With the release of the fifth anniversary limited edition of the book, we heard from Charlie about the story behind his four beloved characters, the inspiration for his illustrations, and the powerful life lessons that resonate with readers around the world. COVER CONNECTION THE OF KINDNESS ANDNext >