Let's talk - not about sex - but books. Remember them? One book out of which I used to get a kick was a collection of Andy Capp cartoons, which at least some of this newspaper's readers must recall.
In one of them, if I remember correctly (and obviously I don't), Andy said to his minister something along the lines of "If you don't lend me some money, I'll drown myself" - and in the next frame, we see him standing on the edge of the bar about to dive into his ever-present pint.
The minister, taking money from his pocket, grins at the reader and says: "I'll forgive a man with style just about anything."
I'll forgive a man who can write well just about anything - which is why the first book I want to mention is the recently-published Inside Quatro: Uncovering the Exile History of the ANC and Swapo (Jacana Books) by Paul Trewhela. Trewhela writes wonderfully, with passion and enormous clarity, and anyone interested in our "real" recent history should read this book.
The reason I have to "forgive him" is that I find him annoying - like a neighbourhood dog that barks at 3am every day and won't stop. And one of the issues about which he bangs on incessantly is Jacob Zuma's alleged complicity in the death in Lusaka of Muziwakhe Ngwenya, better known as Thami Zulu.
I don't mind Trewhela raising the matter. I think it's important that he did and does. It's just that he never stops. And, as befits a former member of the SACP (they're like ex- smokers in their zeal), Trewhela's approach comes from the nasty side of the street.