The holidays are on the horizon and whether you're at the beach, on the road or in your bed, 'tis the season to dive into some local literature.
For bookworms who enjoy reading about familiar locales, a new Namibian thriller, a collection of award-winning short stories and a journey through the geography of memory may tickle your fancy.
Presented by a trio of exciting millennial authors, these are three festive season stocking stuffers for local literature lovers.
'ONLY STARS THE KNOW THE MEANING OF SPACE'
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After the success of 'The Eternal Audience of One', local author Rémy Ngamije returns to the international literary scene with 'Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space - A Literary Mixtape'. Published by Gallery/Scout Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, 'Only Stars' is experimental in its form, which draws on the nostalgia of 90's cassette tapes in its 'Jukebox for Jokers (Or, Contents)'.
The book launched in Windhoek in April this year after its international release in December 2024. 'Only Stars' includes 'Granddaughter of the Octopus', which won the regional Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2021, as well as 'The Giver of Nicknames' and 'The Neighbourhood Watch', both of which were shortlisted for the AKO Caine Prize.
"When I conceived 'Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space', I wanted something that reminded me of those mixed CDs and cassettes we used to make back in the day that had an A-side and B-Side," said Ngamije at the book's Windhoek launch.
"So, I wrote a collection of short stories that is presented as a literary mixtape because you can read it A-side only or B-side, you can read it ABAB or BABA," he said. "The stories are connected in very strange ways that the reader has to figure out themselves and, depending on which one you read first or last, you're gonna wind up at a different emotional point."
'Only Stars' has been praised in The Guardian, The Brooklyn Rail, LA Times, Booklist, Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews and is available at The Book Den in Windhoek. To access an actual mixtape inspired by the book, visit remythequill.com.
'THE DISTANCE WITHIN'
Nicola Brandt's 'The Distance Within' won't fit into any stockings, but this sprawling photographic and textual inquiry is well worth adding to your local literature shelf. The hefty hardcover draws on 10 years of the decolonial documentary photographer's investigation into Namibia's sites of German colonial history while passing the mic to descendants, activists and scholars concerned with memory, genocide, apartheid and post-colonialism.
Documenting memorials, archives and contemporary decolonial movements, Brandt travels across the country to illuminate official and unacknowledged sites of remembrance, resistance and removal.
Through 'The Distance Within', Brandt also reckons with her own German and Namibian realities and responsibilities as she traverses the land and the distances within herself.
"'The Distance Within' was really about a process, an ongoing lifelong process, of trying to cover some kind of impossible space inside of myself," said Brandt at the book's Windhoek launch.
"I'm trying to become a stranger in my own country, in my own land, and look with fresh eyes... into the scars, the traces on the land. And actually, try to turn that lens back into myself and look at those marks and those biases."
Brandt describes 'The Distance Within' as "an unfinished interrogation". Within its pages, readers will not only find a memorable collection of contemporary photography but archives, interviews, essays and reflections from the minds of Zoé Samudzi, Sean O'Toole, Zamansele Nsele, Lorena Rizzo, James E. Young, Sven Christian, Gift Uzera, Muningandu Hoveka and Katuvangua Maendo.
'The Distance Within' is dedicated to "the intersectional activists, past and present, whose efforts embody decoloniality in Namibia". The book, published by Steidl, is available at The Book Den, the Namibian Arts Association, The Project Room and the National Art Gallery of Namibia.
'INIQUITY'
Readers who got to know Anne Hambuda through her weekly column in The Namibian's Weekender will be delighted to hear that 'Iniquity' - her first novel, is hot off the press. The new Namibian thriller is set in Windhoek and follows the exploits of a respected but secretly shady entertainment magnate who has just met the woman of his dreams.
Hambuda is self-publishing 'Iniquity', which dropped on 8 December. The newly minted author describes her debut as a thriller, mystery and dark romance all wrapped in one.
"It's a story that I would want to read. Something quick and thrilling," Hambuda says. "I pulled from real life but it's all a tale I dreamed up, trying to incorporate emotional truths and questions I've had about forgiveness, morality and the masks people wear."
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Fascinated by the psychology of people who live in morally grey spaces, Hambuda says she explores characters that may leave readers conflicted.
"As someone who's worked in clubs, on stages and behind the scenes, it's been fun to kind of pull back the curtain on Namibian nightlife, in a way that will make anyone reading it feel like they can actually picture it happening," says Hambuda.
"This December if you're looking for a book that's intense, addictive and dramatic in the best way, then this is the story that will have you on the edge of your seat."
Find out more on Hambuda's social media and at annehambuda.com.
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