Lansdowne Dearest, by Bronwyn Davids

In the 1920s, Bronwyn Davids’ great-grandpa Joe McBain built their family home in Lansdowne. In this memoir, Davids vibrantly recreates life lived in this house for generations: There’s doekpoeding  for Christmas; helpful neighbours dropping by for advice and chommies playing kennetjie. 

But this is also an account of a gut-wrenching loss. Set against the background of apartheid forced removals, this is a charming and authentically South African family story that will stay with you.