From the publisher:  

“The Marquis of Mooikloof is a marvellously fresh collection of short stories that rings true with consistency and subtlety. Describing the experiences of mixed New South Africa, they flit across moments or episodes of suburban angst and ennui – but in a manner completely without histrionics or wasted sentiment. The stories are mostly short – some appear as mere fragments, others more as narratives. The effectiveness of this collection lies in its attention to detail; its observation of the intimacies, the particularities, the painful truths, and the unsaid, of local life and existence.

O’Toole writes with the journalist’s canny and detached tone, coupled with a great degree of pathos and occasionally grim humor of the ironic kind. The landscapes, buildings, restaurants and suburbs of his stories are bleak and complicated places, peopled by characters who cannot connect or communicate with others. Astute and tight, O’Toole’s character and space-driven ‘anecdotes’ portray a world of failures; of travellers; of apartness; of silences and distances.”

The collection includes a story awarded the 2006 HSBC Literary Award. Cover photo by South African photographer Jo Ractliffe.

13.3 x 20.3 x 1.9 cm | 138 pages | softcover

Sean O’Toole (b.1968) is a Cape Town-based journalist and writer. He is the former editor of Art South Africa, a quarterly print magazine focusing on contemporary South African and African art. He writes a weekly column on photography for the Sunday Times, and a biweekly art column for the Financial Mail.