James Whyle's Blog
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Dec.29.2012
I was given a Kindle over a year ago, and I'm afraid I have not spent a lot on books since then. There's just so much page turning entertainment that is out of copyright.
The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin cannot be recommended enough. This is travel writing at it's best, the...
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Nov.26.2012
That pleasing assesment of The Book of War comes from a recent review.
"Eventually, we realise we are in the Cape Colony during the relentless 100-year Xhosa wars, but Whyle’s nomenclature is archaic and foreign. Its estrangement makes his story universal.
The reduction of context, a peeling away...
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Oct.03.2012
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian is about the North American border wars of the 1830s. The Book of War is about the Southern African border wars of the 1850s.
Sir Harry Smith, known in The Book of War as 'the General', the man who was unable to defeat the great Xhosa strategist, Maqoma, was also...
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Sep.14.2012
"A brilliant, unforgettable debut."
The Times.
"One is thrown ... into the heart of the action, in a state of dread and fascination induced by the dire events, the pristine setting and the perfection of the writing."
Mail & Guardian.
"Cuts to the bone."
GQ South Africa
"Can be reckoned with...
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Sep.04.2012
" You give full credit to Cormac McCarthy for inspiring your harrowing novel, The Book of War. What made you decide to pay tribute to him in this novel, and how did the marriage of your “kid’s” journey coincide with the Eastern Cape Frontier Wars? What made you choose this era in particular...
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Aug.24.2012
The Book of War is now available in the US via AfricanLookBook
"A BRILLIANT, unforgettable debut. Steeped in carnage..."
Andrew Donaldson in The Times:
"... one is thrown, like them, into the heart of the action, in a state of dread and fascination induced by the dire events, the ...
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Jul.18.2012
It is Mandela Day in South Africa.
This piece was first published by Playboy South Africa to coincide with President Mandela’s inauguration.
When I was running away from the army in Swaziland I came across Nelson Mandela's book, No Easy Walk to Freedom. It was a time when I had...
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May.23.2012
In the event that The Book of War might interest an American reader, if only as a work that grows out of American fiction like Moby Dick and Blood Meridian, here are two sites where the book is available for purchase and shipment.
Kalahari.com (paperback, e-pub & pdf)
Exclusive Books (...
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May.18.2012
The Book of War is slowly making its way in the world and has had two published responses. Writing in The Times of Johannesburg, Andrew Dondaldson called it "a brilliant, unforgettable debut, steeped in carnage..." In the Pretoria News, John Boje gave his assesment: "a stunning debut...
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Apr.06.2012
Click on "open publication" to read a digital preview of The Book of War.
Open publication - Free publishing - More james whyle
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Mar.20.2012
Patricia J DeLois visits with James Whyle: Bookshed founder and winner of the 2011 PEN/Studzinski Prize. His debut novel, The Book of War, is due from Jacana Media in the first week of April. Rian Malan has called it, "A very good book. Possibly great."
How did...
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Feb.04.2012
The kid wiped the water from his nose with the back of his hand. He shivered and then he looked at Evans.
You ever killed a woman?
No, said Evans.
You?
No, said the joiner.
Child?
No.
The kid looked at Waine.
You?
Not yet, said Waine.
A realist nightmare that piles horror upon...
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May.31.2011
It's not often that one gets comment on one's work from a Nobel Prize Winner. "First prize goes to 'The Story', an assured and professional piece of writing about a simple-seeming interaction between two men in which the true drama takes place beneath the surface. Dialogue is particularly...
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Aug.13.2009
God put human beings on earth, Barney Simon used to say, because he likes to hear stories.
I met Barney through Nicky Rebelo. During his time at university, Nicky had worked on a creative writing project. He had been in the thick of some weird shit with 32 Battalion during his army stint, and was...
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A brilliant, unforgettable debut.”
—The Times, Johannesburg
About James
James Whyle is a South African writer, playwright and screenwriter. His published drama includes National Madness, an Amstel Play of the Year runner up, and Rejoice Burning which was commissioned by the BBC. His story, The Story, was chosen by JM Coetzee as...
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Causes James Whyle Supports
Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa.