Acclaimed South African author and Wits English professor, Ivan Vladislavić, launched his new book at Wits University last week.
DETECTIVE: Acclaimed South African author, Ivan Vladislavić launched his new book 101 Detectives at Wits on Thursday, as part of Africa Week. Photo: Samantha Camara
101 Detectives is a collection of fictional short stories that follow the adventures of different detectives across Johannesburg, Mauritius, the American West and Germany. The book is the latest offering from Wits English professor and celebrated author Ivan Vladislavić, and was launched at Wits University last Thursday.
Speaking at the launch hosted by the Wits School of Language, Literature and Media (SLLM), Vladislavić said the collection is an extension of his previous work The Loss Library.
Kirby Mania, who completed her doctorate on Vladislavićs’ works, described the collection as an “act of detection” as the reader is invited to not only journey with the characters but also decipher clues and patterns which are hidden in the stories themselves.
Mania suggested that the collection is an “anti-detective” story which follows “no grand system that can be relied on to restore order”.
The book was published by Umuzi, a local branch of Penguin Random House and is on sale at leading bookstores.
Listen to Vladislavić read from the title story of the collection (click below):
