222 mm x 146 mm, 224 pages RRP: R140, ISBN 978-1-4152-0036-0 Publication date: September 2007, Category: Travel Description A very likeable and engaging book – Paul Theroux Dark Continent, My Black Arse is Sihle Khumalo's personal and often hilarious account of his perception of Mama Africa, based on his journey from Cape to Cairo by public transport – bus, boksie, matola Celebrating life with gusto and in inimitable style, he describes a journey fraught with discomfort, mishap, ecstasy, disillusionment, discovery and astonishing human encounters. A journey that would be acceptable madness in a white man but is regarded by the author’s fellow Africans as an extraordinary and inexplicable expenditure of time and money. As Sihle's famous counterpart Paul Theroux, author of Dark Star Safari, comments, Dark Continent, My Black Arse is uniquely an African travel story: the story of 'an African travelling on his own money and motivation, from one end of Africa to the other'. An inspiring story, it carries the following warning: Reading this book might cause you to resign from your boring job, leave your nagging / ungrateful / insecure partner, stop merely existing and start living the life you have always longed and yearned for. You're invited to notify Sihle at sihle.khumalo@webmail.co.za if you still think Africa is a dark continent. From Dark Continent, My Black Arse, page 37 ... At Windhoek bus station I noticed that the bus heading to Cape Town was carrying a number of beautiful young girls. I found myself re-thinking the question I thought I had answered long ago: was it better to do the Cape to Cairo or to start in Cairo and end in Cape Town? At that moment, looking at those fresh, sexy things, I thought maybe I should have started in Cairo and ended in Cape Town. That was such a stupid thought, though, because if I had started in Cairo I would still be in Egypt at that moment. Those are the kind of ideas men entertain when they start thinking with their second head, which was the case with me right then. The bus left Windhoek at sunset, heading up Sam Nujoma Drive in a north-easterly direction to Livingstone. I was now seated next to a man who was obsessed with eating peanuts and was using a matchstick as a toothpick. I spent most of the time looking out the window. I was really impressed, in transit, by the small and attractive towns of Otjiwarongo and Tsumeb, the capital city of the Otjikoto region in northern Namibia which is known as the 'Gateway to the North'. To read on This is just the book we have been thirsting for: travel writing by an African adventurer who explores and tries to explain his own continent ... – Zakes Mda, playwright and author Hoo boy! African travel writing will never be the same again ... – Mike Copeland, adventurer and author A roller coaster adventure from the Cape to Cairo. – Stevie Godson, Saturday Dispatch Through vivid prose, refreshing frankness and great optimism he is an engaging commentator on African travel. – Classic Feel This is not a hardened, cynical traveller like Theroux or VS Naipaul, but a young curious African who experiences flashes of absolute euphoria and moments of utter despair as he crosses his continent. Moreover, he has a witty way with words. — Fred de Vries, LitNet, 17 June 2008. Read the complete review. Readers' comments via the website I sat down in a plane to George and started reading. When we landed I couldn't believe how quickly the time had passed. By the time I had reached my destination I had finished the book in one sitting. What an entertaining read! – Ben Kruger Not only was this book entertaining and thought-provoking but also helped to provide some insight into the extraordinary and mysterious place that is Africa. – Lindsay Cummings, London E-mail us a comment on this book. (Comments may be edited and used on this website.) To buy this book www.exclusivebooks.com www.kalahari.net home   writers   books   contact   buy   rights all content © Umuzi, Random House Struik this website designed and maintained by Guanaco.co.za