Book Bites | Rams Mabote, Rachel Blackmore, Matt Haig
Erotic tales from bygone eras and illicit islands
This week we feature an erotic novel about a South African banker who gets his jollies in Australia; a historical novel set in Renaissance Rome telling the story of Costanza Piccolomini, the muse of Bernini; and Matt Haig's latest of a 72-year-old woman who learns to let go on party island Ibiza

The Sweetest Taboo ****
Rams Mabote
Ride or Die Press
Young banker Morati Sello is sent to Australia on an exchange programme by the Thabo Mbeki government. During his travels he meets wealthy and interesting people, and really is the only black face at dinner. Mo, as he is affectionately known back home, is a Kaizer Chiefs fan who likes Sade’s music and is a big hit with ladies because of his looks. With a background in student politics, he is able to sit at tables and discuss Australia’s politics — and then has an insane amount of sex with different women. Of all the women he slept with, there’s one he can’t get out of his mind — Gabriella, even though he knows there’s no future for both of them. In between, he finds time to Skype his soon-to-be ex-wife Nomakhwezi, his two children and update his friend Pax on his sex adventures. This is a very erotic book. — Busisiwe Ntsamba
Costanza ***
Rachel Blackmore
Renegade Books
Based on a true story, this novel is set in 1636 Rome. Costanza is a 22-year-old woman, childless despite being married for four years to Matteo, who works for the brilliant, wealthy, master sculptor Lorenzo Bernini. Costanza and Matteo attend a function for sculptors from the Fabricca. She is seated next to Lorenzo, dark-eyed and handsome. When their hands touch she feels a jolt of electricity. Lorenzo does too, as he cannot stop thinking about her. He invites the couple to a party at his villa and Costanza hires a magnificent golden gown which leaves Lorenzo mesmerised. They dance and the closeness of his body gets her heart racing. When she professes to know nothing of art he asks if he could show her the masterpieces of Rome. A few times a week he takes her to the temples and churches of the city, and his favourite, the works of Caravaggio. He remains the perfect gentleman. Costanza arrives home one day to hear passionate cries from the bedroom and expects to find Matteo with another woman, but is shocked to find him, bodies intertwined, with a man. In 17th century Rome, homosexuality, adultery and prostitution are punishable crimes. After this she throws caution to the wind and starts a passionate affair with Lorenzo, but they are being watched by jealous observers. Blackmore's debut novel is fresh and utterly believable, with Costanza an independent woman living in a dangerous time. — Gabriella Bekes
The Life Impossible ****
Matt Haig
Canongate
This is not just a story — it's an experience. A holiday of sorts. Right from the one-way plane ticket to Ibiza bookmark that came with my early copy, to the rich descriptions of the island and the quirky characters all working together in a gloriously heart-warming saga to lift even the weariest of spirits — even cynics such as myself who prefer stark reality over fantasy and could not tolerate fairies and make-believe even as a child. So it was with some hesitation that I picked up Haig's story about 72-year-old retired maths teacher Grace Winters, a bleak widow who has lost a child and has become accustomed to existing through her days when her world is tipped upside down and she finds herself on a one-way flight to Ibiza, known for its nightclubs and party scene more than yoga retreats and craft markets. It's here that Grace undergoes something of a personal transformation, which she relates in the book, styled as letters she writes to former pupil Maurice, who expresses some grief of his own. Haig is an incredible writer with that rare ability to describe things in breathtakingly creative ways. For example, his take on a man at the door: “A large man, broad in the shoulders. Arms all muscle. Stare of a buffalo. Bleached hair and a tattoo of a crucifix or a dagger by his left eye. Had a dangerous, twitching energy to him. His skin a tapestry of scars. He could have been seven foot for all I knew. It was as though a boulder had been given sentience via a tub of creatine.” And that's how Haig writes as he takes you along on Grace's journey — inward, outward and all over the island as she discovers the life-changing powers of a whole new beginning. As Grace lets go of her old ways and habits and embraces new spaces, places and people, she opens up and her world shifts and changes. She starts to heal and even grow as the fog and numbness lift. The Life Impossible is an odd little story but it's also a charming and delightful read. — Gill Gifford
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