Book of the Dead

A bold and unflinching exploration of grief and identity, The Book of the Dead traces Khutso’s descent after a shattering family crisis, revealing the intimate human toll of HIV, secrecy, and guilt in contemporary South Africa.

Khutso grows up poor in Masakeng, studies hard against the odds and meets Pretty at university – the pair fall in love, marry and build a life together. But when Pretty's past returns and the spectre of HIV enters their marriage, the life Khutso has built begins to collapse.

Raw, formally daring and deliberately uncomfortable, The Book of the Dead uses one man's rage and devastation to interrogate stigma, masculinity and the human cost of South Africa's AIDS crisis. Winner of the South African Literary Award 2010, it is one of the most startling works of post-Apartheid fiction.

Discover more from the APOLLO AFRICA series: the new home for 100 timeless works from the legendary Heinemann African Writers Series.