It was late when I picked up Emmanuel Mbolela’s memoir Refugee (2021), nearly time for bed; it occurred to me that another book might make more suitable bedtime reading. I’ll just start, I thought, because it was a borrowed copy and due back soon at the library. Straight away,
Before reading this book, the strongest connotation I had with Kinshasa was its central significance in the co-operative boardgame Pandemic. There are a handful of cities on each continent and players coordinate the strengths of their roles to stop the spread of disease; these days, it’s hardly light entertainment.
The word 'goodish' entered my vocabulary thanks to an observation that Carol Shields makes of two female friends in The Republic of Love. (General increased usage of -ish also ensued.) "They love the word ‘goodish,’ as in goodish sunsets, goodish travel bargains, goodish men." The title and cover of Suzanne Sutherland's When
