31 Books Every South African Should Read

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Brand South Africa, 31 Books

This list, titled '31 Books Every South African Should Read,' is curated by Brand South Africa, aiming to provide readers with a deeper understanding of South African culture, history, and societal issues through literature. The selection includes a diverse range of genres such as non-fiction, fiction, and poetry, showcasing the works of influential South African novelists, poets, journalists, and historians. The list does not specify the methodologies or criteria used for selecting these works, nor does it detail the number of contributors or voters involved in its creation. However, it serves as a cultural touchstone for insights into the country's past and present, reflecting on themes of apartheid, democracy, and identity within the South African context.

This list was originally published in 2016 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
17008 The World That Made Mandela Luli Callinicos 2000 Unknown English
2267 Long Walk To Freedom Nelson Mandela 1994 South African English
17008 Tomorrow Is Another Country Allister Sparks 1994 South African English
17008 A History Of South Africa Frank Welsh 1998 Unknown English
17008 The Anglo Boer War, 1899 1902 F. Pretorius 1999 Unknown English
6125 Country Of My Skull Antjie Krog 1998 South African Afrikaans
13890 My Traitor's Heart Rian Malan 1990 South African English
17008 Portraits Of Power Mark Gevisser 1996 Unknown English
17008 New Babylon New Nineveh Charles Van Onselen 2011 Unknown English
17008 Cape Town E. Van Heyningen, Nigel Worden, Vivian Bickford-Smith 1998 Unknown English
17008 Midlands Jonny Steinberg 2002 South African English
17008 Three Letter Plague Jonny Steinberg 2008 South African English
4517 The True Confessions Of An Albino Terrorist Breyten Breytenbach 1983 South African English
259 Disgrace J. M. Coetzee 1999 South African English
264 Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton 1948 South African English
8308 Collected Stories Nadine Gordimer 1975 South African English
14901 The Heart Of Redness Zakes Mda 2000 South African English
15786 Mafeking Road And Other Stories Herman Charles Bosman 1947 South African English
17008 Welcome To Our Hillbrow Phaswane Mpe 2001 South African English
17008 Fools And Other Stories Njabulo Ndebele 1986 South African English
17008 A Place Called Vatmaar Andrew Henry Martin Scholtz 2000 South African English
4259 Ancestral Voices Etienne van Heerden 1986 South African Afrikaans
1001 A Dry White Season Andre Brink 1979 South African Afrikaans
14165 Zoo City Lauren Beukes 2010 South African English
17008 Moxyland Lauren Beukes 2008 South African English
1317 The Story Of An African Farm Olive Schreiner 1883 South African English
17008 The New Century Of South African Poetry Michael Chapman 2002 South African English
17008 Yakhal'inkomo Mongane Wally Serote 1983 South African English
17008 Inside & Out Jeremy Cronin 1999 South African English
17008 Transfer Ingrid de Kok 1997 Unknown English
17008 If I Could Sing Keorapetse Kgositsile 2002 South African English