34 South African novels

Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade is the debut historical novel by Manu Herbstein. It has been described as a work of faction that "successfully blends extensive and meticulous research with abundant imagination to transport the reader into the violent world of the Atlantic Slave Trade."

Bitter Fruit is a novel by Achmat Dangor first published in 2001 by Kwela Books of Cape Town. Set in South Africa in 1998, it is about the disintegration of a Coloured family in the years after the end of apartheid. According to Gabriel Gbadamosi's review in The Guardian, "All the bases are touched in a reckoning with South Africa's past and present turmoil, and no box left unopened in the search for some kind of limbo or twilight zone where all unresolved conflicts might find resolution."

A Chain of Voices is a 1982 novel by Afrikaans writer André Brink. The novel is a historical novel which recounts the roots of the apartheid system during the early part of the 19th century. The novel focuses on a slave revolt center in the country north-east of Cape Town. The novel uses a coalition of voices, representing the whole range of social groups in South Africa.

The Death of Jesus is a 2019 novel by Nobel Prize-winning writer J.M. Coetzee; it is the third in his "Jesus" trilogy, following The Childhood of Jesus (2013) and The Schooldays of Jesus (2016). It was first published in Spanish under the title La muerte de Jesús and distributed throughout Latin America. In fact, it is the second of Coetzee's books to appear first in Spanish, the first being Siete cuentos morales or "Moral Tales".

Fiela's Child is a South African drama written by Dalene Matthee and published in 1985. The book was originally written in Afrikaans under the name Fiela se Kind, and was later translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Icelandic and Sinhalese, among others.

Flowers in the Sand (2011), the second novel by South African author Clive Algar, has been described by literary critics as "completely engrossing and superbly written" and "a great adventure story".

Get a Life is a 2005 novel by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer. The novel tells the story of environmental activist Paul Bannerman and his family. Paul is diagnosed with thyroid cancer and, after surgery and subsequent radiation treatment, has to live quarantined at his parents' place for some time. This significant change in his life also affects his family. The novel received mixed reviews by critics, and departs from other novels by Gordimer as it does not directly deal with Apartheid, instead focusing on the struggle of a single individual.

A Guest of Honour is a 1970 novel by Nobel winning South African writer Nadine Gordimer. Published four years after her novel The Late Bourgeois World, the novel is a political novel that explores the role of revolutionary ideas in new African states.

In a Strange Room is a 2010 novel by South African writer Damon Galgut. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010, as well as for the Ondaatje Prize.

An Instant in the Wind is a 1975 novel by André Brink which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Set in 1751, the novel focuses on the relationship of a white woman and a black slave. Kirkus Reviews describes the novel as beginning with conflict, but quickly descending into "sensual, cerebral dialogues on love and personhood."

King's Gold is a novel by South African author Glenn Macaskill, published in 2003 by Crest Publishing. It contains graphic references to the Gukurahundi, the occupation of Matabeleland by Zimbabwe's Fifth Brigade in the 1980s. The majority of the book is centred on two main plotlines: The political efforts of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, and the discovery and subsequent extraction of an ancient treasure, a solid gold bird statue created at the whim of King Mzilikazi some 180 years before.

Knot of Stone: the day that changed South Africa’s history is a 2011 historical murder mystery written by South African/Dutch author Nicolaas Vergunst.

The Lying Days is the debut novel of Nobel winning South African novelist, Nadine Gordimer. It was published in 1953 in London by Victor Gollancz and New York by Simon & Schuster. It is Gordimer's third published book, following two collections of short stories, Face to Face (1949), and The Soft Voice of the Serpent (1952). The novel is semi-autobiographical, with the main character coming from a small mining town in Africa similar to Gordimer's own childhood. The novel is also a bildungsroman "about waking up from the naivete of a small colonial town."

Make a Skyf, Man! is a work of autobiographical fiction by the anti-apartheid activist Harold Strachan. It was published in 2004.

No Time Like the Present is a 2012 novel by South African writer Nadine Gordimer. It was Gordimer's last published novel during her lifetime. The novel deals with a variety of issues in contemporary South Africa, including unemployment, HIV-AIDS, and corruption.

Occasion for Loving is a 1963 novel by Nobel prize-winning South African author Nadine Gordimer. It was her third published novel, and sixth published book.

The Persistence of Memory is a novel by Tony Eprile. It was published in 2004 by W. W. Norton & Company. The story portrays 1960s and 1970s South Africa through the experiences of Paul Sweetbread, a young Jewish South African with a photographic memory. The novel follows Paul from his experiences in school, through his service in the South African Defence Force during the country's border war, to his participation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The novel deals heavily with the question of white liberal guilt during the apartheid regime.

The Power of One is a novel by Australian author Bryce Courtenay, first published in 1989. Set in South Africa during the 1930s and 1940s, it tells the story of an English boy who, through the course of the story, acquires the name of Peekay.

The Restless Supermarket is a novel by Croatian-South African author Ivan Vladislavic, which tracks the changes in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, during the 1990s, through the eyes of a grumpy, retired proof-reader who spends his life in one café. It was published by David Philip Publishers in Cape Town in 2001 and was recently reissued. The book was published again in 2014 by publishing house 'And Other Stories.'

The Schooldays of Jesus is a 2016 novel by J. M. Coetzee. It is Coetzee's 13th novel and is a sequel to the 2013 novel The Childhood of Jesus. It resumes the story of a young boy named David who is brought up in a foreign land.

A Sinless Season is a novel by South African author Damon Galgut. It was published in 1982 when the author was only seventeen. It details the interactions between Scott, Raoul, and Joseph, three young inmates at the Bleda reformatory.

Slow Man is a 2005 novel by South African-born Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee, and concerns a man who must learn to adapt after losing a leg in a road accident. The novel has many varied themes, including the nature of care, the relationship between an author and his characters, and man's drive to leave a legacy. It was Coetzee's first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The novel was longlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize.

A Sparrow Falls is a 1977 novel by Wilbur Smith. It is one of the Courtney Novels and is set during and after World War I.

The Story of an African Farm was South African author Olive Schreiner's first published novel. It was an immediate success and has become recognised as one of the first feminist novels.

The Good Doctor is author Damon Galgut's fifth novel. It was written in 2003 and first published in the United States. It focuses on one doctor's struggle with his conscience in a rural hospital in post-apartheid South Africa. The Good Doctor was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2003.

A Time of Angels is a 1992 book by Patricia Schonstein and follows the lives of a number of Italian Jews in post-Apartheid South Africa.

Time of the Butcherbird is the final novel by South African novelist Alex La Guma. The novel was first published in 1979.

Way Up, Way Out is the first book by the South African anti-apartheid activist Harold Strachan. It was first published by David Philip in Cape Town in 1998.

Ways of Dying is a 1995 novel by South African novelist and playwright Zakes Mda. The text follows the wanderings and creative endeavors of Toloki, a self-employed professional mourner, as he traverses an unnamed South African city during the nation's transitional period.

Welcome to Our Hillbrow, is a novel by South African novelist Phaswane Mpe which deals with issues of xenophobia, AIDS, tradition, and inner city status in the Hillbrow neighborhood of post-apartheid Johannesburg. It was first published in 2001.

The Whale Caller is a fifth novel written by South African writer Zakes Mda, who is currently a professor at Ohio University, It is a novel about a man in South Africa named Whale Caller. The Whale Caller first appears to be sexually attracted to whales; especially a whale he named Sharisha. As the story progresses, he meets a woman named Saluni, who falls deeply in love with the Whale Caller. Throughout the story, the Whale Caller constantly has internal conflicts. He tries to love Saluni, however he can not abandon the love he has toward his beloved whale, Sharisa.

When the Lion Feeds (1964) is the debut novel of Rhodesian writer Wilbur Smith. It introduces the Courtney family, whose adventures Smith would tell in many subsequent novels. In 2012, Smith said the novel remained his favourite because it was his first to be published.

A Wreath for Udomo is a 1956 novel by South African novelist Peter Abrahams. The novel follows a London-educated black African, Michael Udomo, who returns to Africa to become a revolutionary leader in the fictional country of Panafrica and is eventually martyred. The novel explores a revolutionary politics, exploring the diversity of actors and political communities needed to overcome colonial oppression.

Zoo City is a 2010 science fiction novel by South African author Lauren Beukes. It won the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2010 Kitschies Red Tentacle for best novel. The cover of the British edition of the book was awarded the 2010 BSFA Award for best artwork, and the book itself was shortlisted in the best novel category of the award.