BOOK REVIEW: Sigh the Beloved Country: Braai Talk, Rock ‘n’ Roll & Other Stories
HE ROCKED up in lots of blue — hat, shirt, pants — a yellow coat and brown shoes. A curated self."Dressing nicely for me, actually in my family, is a demonstration of good manners," says journalist and author Bongani Madondo, whose latest book, Sigh the Beloved Country: Braai Talk, Rock ‘n’ Roll & Other Stories, was launched in Johannesburg last week. "We have been taught since we were growing up that one must at all times look presentable."In fact, style is a subject he addresses at length in the book, which comprises essays, commentary, reflections and cultural and sociopolitical analysis of the state of South African society.He addresses style in two long essays that use as a "hook" the late vocalist and composer Miriam Makeba, who collapsed and died on an Italian stage in 2008. Madondo wonders why Makeba’s powerful sense of sartorial style is not as well documented as her musical prowess. Her dress sense, he argues, has influenced younger generations in SA and abroad."It struck ...
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