Book Review – Deeper Than Colour

by James Clelland (Jacana) ISBN 978-1-77009-925-8

James Clelland is the recipient of the EU Literary Award in 2010.

He certainly is a compelling new voice in South African fiction. In this story his fiction is based on some truth. You cannot help laughing at what might be your own marriage.

The story is about Angus, an angry young man. He is married to Dinah whom he dreads making love to. He even counts the tampons in the bathroom to try and escape his husbandly duties.

So much shocked me in this book and yet I became inured to the language eventually.

His Border Duty stories are real black humour.The fright and illogical need to be up at the Border is so well described that in spite of his innate selfishness you feel a need to have sympathy with him in his awful situation.

All that matters to Angus is his shrink, his peculiar mother and hidden movies of himself. It’s difficult to give an assessment of the book because it is almost too modern for most readers.

I read on in spite of my old-fashioned misgivings and strangely enough I really enjoyed it.

Dee Andrew
4.5/5