Book-run Longevity of Specialty Titles

Khulu Mbatha is a literary chronicler of the South Africa 1976 Generation. I say so because this book publisher need not have mentioned it in the subtitle. The generation referred to are the school-going youth whose uprising against the imposition of Afrikaans as medium of instruction in their Apartheid Bantu Education led to the savage killing of 1000 of them across South African streets in the following months but eventually brought forth the dismantling of until then a strident Racial Superiority White Apartheid statehood.

I picked the title for a give-away price only last week while noticing that good works such as this fall off the bookseller's list rather rapidly as the title gets discounted five fold since first publishing just two two years ago. I picked it up for R65 as an Exclusive Books second clearance price after a failed prior price of R164 discounted from an original R328. It appears the bulk of the price is bookshelf rent.

Having finished it I felt guilty for not having supported the publication earlier. I vaguely recall reading a newspaper review of it a year back and felt it was an interesting title but never enough to go looking for it. As it happens it was an accidental find while trolling a mall on an idle vacation afternoon in Durban South Africa last week.

Perhaps it is just as well that I read it as booksellers discard it so that I can say right away that this is a highly educational book. The authors style is lucid and captivating. He takes the reader into his confidence by relating context before revealing the narrative in a manner that is gripping. Once my attention was held I could not let go until the end some few hours later and done!

This is also a call to Librarians who eventually should lower their brows for not including it in their holdings. It is fair to judge the success of a book at the trade sellers but its value belongs with Librarians. That's my challenge to the sector as I make amends for a belated recognition of this work.

PS: As always, I can always unleash my take on the whole generational saga but won't spoil it for the Librarians, Yet. But they are duly warned.