Mongrel: Essays

by William Dicey

From a carcass competition in the Karoo to a shambolic murder trial in Cape Town, William Dicey’s essays freewheel across an open terrain of interests. Dicey is curious and inventive, weaving strands of essay, journalism, fiction and self-reportage into something uniquely his own.

'Mongrel' investigates a range of topics – radical environmentalism, the fault lines between farmer and farm worker, the joys and sorrows of reading – yet drifts of concern and sensibility draw the collection together. Several essays touch on how books can move, and sometimes maul, their readers.

'Mongrel' is idiosyncratic, witty and potent.

Genres: Essays

224 pages, Softcover

Published February 1, 2016

About the author

William Dicey is the author of the critically acclaimed Borderline (2004). He has worked as a mathematics lecturer, a book designer and a farmer. He divides his time between Ceres and Cape Town.

Reviews

[Francis Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My read of the year so far

[Alain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of this book on Friday and tore through it over the weekend. There's a kind of pragmatic nuance in Dicey's writing about contemporary South Africa that seems remarkably uncommon. Mongrel is full of humanity and wit and intelligence and has a strong love and enjoyment of literature at the base of it all.

The essays included are wide-ranging and consistently engaging, from the DFW-esque covering of a meat festival in Calvinia to an experiment in literary footnotes to a very personal exploration of the contentious issue of farmer/worker relations in SA.

Rarely has a book I've read seemed so capable not only of reflecting but better articulating my own experiences (which, I guess, is what a good book is supposed to do).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Karina Szczurek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love personal essays and this collection is a true gem.