Send us a Text Message.In this intriguing debut by  Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụwe are introduced to two young girls Ozoemena and Treasure, whose coming of age takes place in a boarding school in Nigeria. Their meeting is set against the backdrop of familial loss and tragedy. We watch them try to navigate the realities of coming of age and into themselves in a society that doesn’t always give them space to do that.Treasure has experienced the violence of patriarchy and the institutions which support it and has to make difficult decisions when approached by a dark spirit. Ozoemena has to contend with a different spiritual identity when her uncle dies. In this novel, filled with Igbo mythology and fascinating metaphysical occurrences, African oral histories are brought to the forefront.We sat with Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ as we explored what it means to write a genre bending coming of age novel as a debut. Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.This book begins with a curse put on the house of Zulu and her family, the Mhlongos, by Nandi Mhlongo, mother of Shaka ka Senzangakhona for the disrespect she endured from them.Weaving through the lives of three women living in different historical ages who in their own ways attempt to get restitution for Nandi.Through the eyes of three female protagonists, each who experiences a different loss and heartbreak, Dr Mazibuko-Msimang explores African spirituality, disappointment and familial relationships.This novel is an ode to the power of historical fiction, well-researched with a focus on some of the most important historical periods in South Africa. From the Frontier wars, Apartheid and Fees Must Fall, each of the protagonists reveal a powerful, feminist centred gaze. Dr Mazibuko-Msimang sat down with us to discuss her debut novel. In this eye opening conversation, we discussed the themes of generational trauma, cellular memory, restorative justice  and how those with no institutional power get justice. Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.In this beautiful memoir, Safiya Sinclair writes about her childhood and adolescence in Jamaica with parents in the Rastafari faith. In an act of personal excavation, she brings forth the hidden histories of a people pushed to the margins by colonisation, oppression, and religious intolerance, all exacerbated by patriarchy. Raised in difficult socio-economic conditions by a father who increasingly becomes more militant in his practice of Rastafari, Safiya and her siblings find refuge in her mother’s creativity and love for literature.We are drawn to the discovery of Safiya as a scholar and poet while navigating her intimate relationship with her family, the first site of turmoil and conflict between the author and the people she loves. Truthful but graceful, we embark on the journey to humanise her parents in the face of the difficult upbringing that she has.The beauty of Safiya’s writing is the tenderness with which she handles the contradictions of an upbringing that cuts its children’s joys and ambitions small but also finds love and joy in many of these moments.All of this take place with the ever foreboding threat of Babylon, encroaching in their personal lives and their relationship with the outside world. We are struck by the ways in which even the most vehement opposers of Babylon, accede to its rules in the world of work and life – a metaphor for the ways in which people survive.National Book Critics Circle Award WinnerA New York Times Notable BookA Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!A Best Book of 2023 by the New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Vulture, Shelf Awareness, Goodreads, Esquire, The Atlantic, NPR, and Barack ObamaThe 2024 OCM BOCAS PRIZE non-fiction winnerShortlisted for the non-fiction prize for the women's prize.   Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.In My Life as a Chameleon, Diana Anyakwo explores the themes of identity, family and memory with a tender hand. Centred around the experiences of Lily, a teenager of mixed race background growing up in Nigeria and England. Lily’s experience is further complicated by her birth order as the youngest of four children with a significant age difference between her and the others. Interestingly, the novel is written in a diary like format flitting between different time periods with no strict adherence to chronology.We watch Lily experience bereavement and the subsequent pain of grief as young child whose experience is often dismissed. Prior to this loss, Lily experiences the confusion of a loved one’s mental illness and her family’s inability to confront or adequately acknowledge the fissures and chasms that this causes.We sat down in this delightful conversation with Diana to discuss what it means to write characters who navigate complex social contexts and identities while grieving a past unknown and an uncertain future.My Life as a Chameleon has been longlisted for the Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize 2024 and shortlisted for the KMPG Ireland Children's Books Ireland Awards Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message."1. Unwelcome Reunion Unwelcome ReunionWhen I was twenty-eight, my stepmother Anabel came to New York on vacation. She was living, at the time, in Pakistan, where she worked for a UN agency. At a restaurant a few blocks from my Chinatown apartment, we ate noodle soup and drank red wine. That night, Anabel told me my father did not die of cancer as I believed. He died, she claimed, of AIDS."Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes that occur in the same general area during the days to years following a larger event or "mainshock."In her memoir of the same title, Nadia Ouwusu explores what it means to be a nomad, a childhood characterised by loss and distance. We travel with Nadia in a life characterised by contrasts, having no mother and two mothers, having strong roots and none at the same time.Thematically inspired by the activity an earthquake, Owusu weaves between different chronological events culminating in a week long reckoning with self and history at age 28.In a powerfully tender conversation, Owusu sat with us  to discuss her memoir. A reflection on belonging, grief and reckoning.Filled with honesty, grace and the joy of recollection, this was one of our favourite conversations this year.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message."And in breaking news, convicted serial killer and rapist, Napoleon Dingiswayo, escaped from Pretoria’s C-Max Prison at twelve-fifteen this afternoon, along with serial rapist and armed robber Andries Mathe, and heist kingpin Sifiso Khumalo.’ The voice of the newsreader rings crisp and cool while announcing the earth-shattering news."Angela Makholwa is one of South Africa’s more eminent crime writers. In Red Ink, we were introduced to the characters of Lucy Khambule and Napoleon Dingiswayo and left on the edge as we wondered what happened next. In her latest novel, Makholwa revisits the chapters we thought were long closed. The book opens with Napoleon’s escape from prison and Lucy’s subsequent terror begins. We sat down with Makholwa to discuss what it means to write crime fiction in South Africa, Lucy Khambule and how our preoccupations drive us towards the truth. We laughed, we introspected and walked away with a newfound appreciation for the art of crime fiction writing.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.In this refreshing tale about Black love and the self-discovery, we are introduced to Zola, a young woman in her 20’s thrashing out what it means to reckon with disappointment. We meet her as a new arrival in South Africa, following an extended stint in Germany which ultimately falls apart. In the face of the disappointment of a dream shattered, she also has to navigate family politics and a complicated love life.This is when Mbali enters the story, a gorgeous man from the right side of town who is irresistible on paper but is deeply flawed and complex as most people are. The ensuing chaos between these two with a third unlikely character as Okuhle, who is her boss.The Cheeky Natives sat down with Zibu to discuss the nuanced nature of Black lives, the disappointments of dreams deferred and the search for one’s self in the face of complicated romantic and familial relationships.Zibu who is is no stranger to writing romance offered us the unique perspective of writing on Black love, life on the periphery and the navigations of class and education, especially between the haves and the have nots. More importantly, she asks important questions around the act of choosing yourself and your dreams even at great cost.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.“In Violet’s bedroom, most of the furniture had been moved, except for the bed whose mattress lay on the floor and carried the weight of an unconscious Violet. The wardrobe had been moved to the corner of the room and the table that had been near the window moved to the sitting room. There was a small mound where the table had occupied space, a small grave where Violet’s baby would be laid to rest. Uncle Sontaga had dug the grave with the help of Andzani and Neo. He had used his leg to determine its depth, and when it got to his knee, he’d resolved it was deep enough.” A Soft Landing is a novel that explores the implications of a past not decisively dealt with. Wisani’s characters live lives that are mired in the questions and complexities that characterise Black life. A Soft Landing is more than a coming-of-age tale; it is a poignant study of grief in its myriad of guises. Every one of the central characters in this novel has a precarious relationship to loss. This is an examination on the weight of grief, past and present in all its manifestations. In this episode, we chat to Wisani Mushwana about his debut. We traverse topics such as homosexuality being unAfrican, weaponising shame, the cost of a human life, mental health, the implications of not dealing with trauma. We also delve into tender moments in the book, which include love, healing and hope.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.“He stared back at her, unconcerned. She had always marvelled at his calm assurance that everything good in his life would either remain the same or get better. He took good fortune for granted. As though it were impossible that it would abide only for a spell. She had never been able to shake the sense that life was war, a series of battles with the occasional spell of good things.” - Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption.We sat down with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ discuss her latest book A Spell of Good Things, which has been longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.Set over the course of one weekend, Christopher introduces us to Vuyo, one of a long lineage of headstrong January women. Vuyo, pregnant with twins is mourning the death of her Scottish-born husband and has come home to her family home in the rural Eastern Cape.Paying homage to matrilineal lineage, the January women take centre stage in this book. Written from each of their perspectives, Christopher offers a look at the interior lives of these Black women, their tragedies, relationships, and histories. Tenderly and with a clarity that can only be described as masterful, Siyotula explores what it means to be each of these women.Healing and reconciliation, and the transformative power of nature are explored in this novel. Aided by the vivid, visual representations of the lush Eastern Cape, water is central theme in this book. The power of water and by extension, nature is a prominent feature of Siyotula’s writing.Interestingly, Siyotula’s characters are complex and deeply layered. Representative of the deeply labyrinthine nature of family, each of these characters are a reminder that home is indeed the first site of the political.With unconventional male characters, Siyotula reimagines what equality in relationships may look like, particularly for women whose lives and experiences have always been devalued.The Cheeky Natives sat down with Nozuku Siyotula to discuss this beautiful novel.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message."With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a young girl, who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own way toward womanhood. Drawing from her own life, as well as pop culture and news headlines, Shire finds vivid, unique details in the experiences of refugees and immigrants, mothers and daughters, Black women and teenage girls. In Shire’s hands, lives spring into fullness." The Cheeky Natives sat down with Warsan Shire following the release of her much anticipated poetry collection.In a far ranging conversation spanning the both themes of the book and the context in which they exist, this complex and layered life was laid out. These poems are a record of black womanhood, a journey often characterised by a prevailing state of precarity and difficulty.Despite this, Warsan also captures the joy and magic in the essence of our journey into becoming. Warsan’s writing is masterful, each poem so vividly and tenderly written that it unfurls as you read it. For fans of Warsan, (s/o to Tumblr), this collections feels like a meeting of old friends, an encounter where one sees just how much they have changed and grown. In many ways, this book is effulgent. A writing against the abyss of trauma, harm and erasure.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.According to the NYT, The Prophets’ is an exploration of Black Love and Memory in a Time of Trauma. What an apt description of this powerful debut by Robert Jones Jr. In a novel moving across time and space, we are introduced to Samuel and Isaiah, who are two enslaved young men on a plantation named Empty. Despite a betrayal by another one of the enslaved men, their love burns brightly. Moving back in time, we are introduced to the Kosongo people and meet Kosii and Elewa who are spiritual predecessors to Samuel and Isaiah. There are a multitude of other characters who we meet in this traversing of time and place, Amos, Ruth, Paul and Tim. The Cheeky Natives sat down with Robert Jones Jr to discuss this radical book of queer love that moves in courage and history.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng aka Dr T, is a globally renowned doctor and human rights defender and a bestselling author of “Dr T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure”. Born in Qwaqwa in the Free State, she credits her success to the guidance and nurturing that her mother continues to give her. Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng is an advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights (including adolescent health, transgender affirming health, abortions) with experience in legislative reform, policy, healthcare provision, and health communication. Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng was recently named one of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Advisory group. The Cheeky Natives sat in conversation with Dr T to talk about her book, its genesis, her work as a medical doctor and her role as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health. The conversation touched on the way Dr T approaches her advocacy and activism. It was a delightful conversation with an important figure in our global imaginationSupport the Show.

Send us a Text Message.“See, if you act like your uniqueness is a great thing and you couldn’t care less about their opinion, they eventually give up. And that feels so good that you do it again and again until you truly believe it.”An Ordinary Wonder is a coming of age story about Oto — the main protagonist. Oto is a twin, who is born intersex and socialised as a boy and who experiences hardship in the family home because of her desire to live as a girlThe book is filled with rich imagery, art, proverbs and folk tales. The writing is stunning, often lyrically.Oto leaves for boarding school with one plan: excel and escape his cruel home. Falling in love with his roommate was certainly not on the agenda, but fear and shame force him to hide his love and true self.Back home, weighed down by the expectations of their wealthy and powerful family, the love of Oto's twin sister wavers and, as their world begins to crumble around them, Oto must make drastic choices that will alter the family's lives for ever.The Cheeky Natives sat down with Buki Papillion to speak about this debut. The conversation is heart-rending. We speak about a debut that will steal your heartSupport the Show.

Send us a Text Message.Carice Anderson author of Intelligence isn’t enough is a professional development manager and coach with over 17 years’ experience at top companies. Having noticed that Black professionals are often the ones who struggle the most with the transition to corporate life and as a result become frustrated and demotivated very early on in their professional lives.Anderson looks both forward and to the past as she addresses cultural differences and legacies that often burden first generation black professionals.Anderson set out to write a guide looking at the domains which one needs to flourish in any corporate setting. These are IQ, Mental Attitude, People Matters, Cultural Intelligence, Personal Branding and Communication. The book masterfully sets to uncover why each of these are so pivotal for professional success in the corporate world.Anderson addresses the questions of excelling in challenging job assignments and experiences which shape your learning in the work environment. She looks at maximising relationships and experiences in the working environment. She presents the case for developing yourself not only as a career professional in your chosen field but also for working on yourself as a brand.She presents the case for developing yourself not only as a career professional in your chosen field but also for working on yourself as a brand.She asks readers to examine how they spend their time and the time spent is setting them up for greatness.Cognisant on the many factors that are out of our control in the workplace, Anderson implores the reader to focus on what is in their control as an empowering way to shape your experience.In this conversation Anderson sat down with the Cheeky Natives to look at just why Intelligence isn’t enough and what you can do about it.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.“Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding."is how Peace Adzo Medie introduces us to Afi and Elikem in her acclaimed debut His Only Wife. A Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick. This book os also a New York Notable Book of the year. EBased in Ghana, the story is centred on the life of Afi Tekple, a young seamstress. We meet her having been convinced by her family to marry a man she does not know. She knows of him since he is a wealthy businessman whose mother has chosen her as a way to end his ill relationship with a woman his family deems unsuitable. Afi is an intelligent and tenacious young woman and despite all of these qualities still feels that she has to endure a difficult and unhappy marriage in order to ‘secure the bag’In this deceptively simple novel, Medie challenges us to explore the difficulties of modern life for a young woman traversing social and financial inequalities, patriarchal norms and the innate desire for companionship. Peace Adzo Medie sat with us in this delightful conversation exploring Ati’s world and all those who live in it.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.Meet the Mafus, a close-knit, traditional family with three daughters. As leaders of their church, The Kingdom of God, Pastor Abraham and his wife Phumla are guiding the community of Bulawayo in faith, while trying to keep the different branches of their family intact.’Although, the podcast was recorded a year ago, we are cheekily release it now because the paperback edition of A Family Affair is out. In this conversation, Sue Nyathi explores the journeys of family. What does is it mean to be family in a time of tumultuous changes, challenges and complications. We explore the different personalities of the members of this family, Xoliswa in all her feistiness, Zandile and her marital bliss always complicated by Yandisa who considered is the ‘black sheep’ of the family. There are interesting, painful and heartbreaking moments as we explore what happens to women when life happens. So much of the conversation is centred around what it means to hold space for family when you don’t approve of each other’s choices. Sue challenges the reader as we navigate the difficult themes of grief, loss and Gender-Based Violence. We spoke to these themes and more. This was a powerful conversation between the Cheeky Natives and Sue Nyathi.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.“This is not a story for the romanticisation of pain and perseverance, although it tells of overcoming many difficulties. It is a critique of secret violence in faith communities and families, and the hypocrisy that has damaged so many people still looking for a place and way to voice their trauma. This is a critique of the value placed on ritual and culture at the expense of human life and well-being, and the far-reaching consequences of systems of oppression dressed up as tradition.”Jamil F. Khan is a critical diversity scholar, columnist and author. They are currently enrolled for a PhD in Critical Diversity Studies at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies. Their work explores multiple axes of difference including race, gender, sexuality and class. As a columnist, their analysis of socio-political events shaping the South African landscape pulls no punches in speaking truth to power. Their published work includes a socio-political memoir, Khamr: The Makings of a Waterslams – winner of best biography at the 2021 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards, book chapters in Intersections of ageing, gender and sexualities (Polity Press, 2019), They Called Me Queer (Kwela, 2019) and Touch (Kwela, 2021) and scholarly articles on the subject of queer ageing in academic journals Sexualities and Agenda.In their memoir which details their experiences from childhood to early adulthood, Khan writes with tenderness and vulnerability, the complicated realities of living in a so-called middle-class Coloured home in the Northern suburbs of Cape Town. The detail of these memories is both jarring and reassuring as we watch Khan and examine the intersections of race, Islam and homophobia while they works through self discovery. There is a deep examination of generational trauma and what pain is left as an inheritance in an environment of abuse and trauma. Extending grace while holding their loved ones accountable is a theme which runs throughout the book and both challenges and comforts the reader in their own confrontation of the traumas of racism and homophobia. In this episode, The Cheeky Natives sat with the talented Jamil F Khan to discuss what it means to memorialise your self and journey in memoir.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.Lerato never wanted to join her sister's stupid social club. All those pretentious people spending hours showing off their wealth. To what end? What was the point of it all? She'd been disappointed that her husband had fallen for Solomzi's charms and finally acceded to the invitation to join the group."In her latest novel chronicling the lives of four couples, Makholwa reveals the price of ‘perfect’. In a social media world obsessed with love lives here and Black love, Makholwa challenges readers to look beyond the veneer.These very successful women who form the backbone of this story are each battling their own demons in their marriages and even work life.The discovery of the body of unidentified woman in the beginning of the book is the source of much mystery and tension.Exploring the themes of financial crisis, toxic relationships, religion and sexual frustration, critical but. stable is a feat.Makholwa calls on us to rethink what capitalism means for Black love and existence.Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.‘Everybody lives in a cage. Whether they know it or not is the question. I think that knowing that you in live in a cage is what ultimately sets you free, But even if you don’t know that you live in a cage, you know that there must be more to life than this.’ – Terry-Ann Adams Women are often not the protagonists of their own stories. Terry- Ann Adams in her debut novel reputes this, Those Who Live in Cages captures the interior lives of five women in Eldorado Park, a Coloured township in the South of Johannesburg. It is through Bertha, Kaylynn Laverne, Janice and Raquel that we experience the everyday life of Eldos and surviving in ‘the Park’. Their lives enables us go think through living as a Black women in this country. The book does not shy away from difficult issues that plague these women, such as alcoholism, domestic violence, gender-based violence, teen pregnancy. Through all this, these women try to exercise some agency. The book also has soft moments in the familial context, in the friendship and in many ways how these women find themselves in the world that was not created to benefit them. We sat with Terry-Adams to reflect on the inspiration between the novel and to reflect more deeply on the issues that are excavated in the story. This debut is a poignantly beautiful offering that adds to the canon about an often forgotten community.Support the Show.