Lansdowne Dearest: My Family’s Story of Forced Removals, by Bronwyn Davids

In the 1920s, Bronwyn Davids's 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 and pickled fish for Easter; helpful neighbours dropping by for advice and gossip, a garden with a chicken-run, pomegranate, plum and peach trees; chommies playing kennetjie; Capab opera at The Alhambra and shows at the Joseph Stone.

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

'A powerful story written with clarity, composure and compassion ... Davids expresses herself with such fluency and insight that the aromas and colours, the pains and the pleasures, the aspirations and the suppressions of Lansdowne Dearest feel near and real. This book is a must-read. - Jonathan Jansen

'An affectionate, often pained family record and a vivid tile in the mosaic of South African stories.' - Michele Magwood