"Shaggy: 14 Rather Amusing Rambles" by Anton Krueger and Pravasan Pillay

Shaggy: 14 Rather Amusing Rambles

Prepare yourself for a cast of some of the most manipulative, ingratiating, deluded, egotistical, inauthentic, spiteful narcissists operating in contemporary South Africa. You will encounter fourteen first-hand 'shaggy dog stories' told by a rogues gallery of scheming misanthropes whose speeches are full of sound and fury, signifying very little. These hilarious blowhards will make you snigger, cringe and wish your cousin had rather given you Spud 5 for your birthday.

These 'shaggy' stories completely re-work the traditional shaggy dog story for a new generation. Taking the form of ironic comedy monologues, they’re not so much a re-invention as a complete and thorough detonation of the form which has then been re-pasted together using a glitter gun soaked in vodka.

You’ll soon find that each self-indulgent story is told by an arrogant git, completely blind to their own flaws. Characters include a washed-up comedian giving advice to a young wannabe; an executive eager to exploit the recent fandangles at the SABC; a conceptual artist obsessed with his body issues; a woman addicted to washing dishes; and a Satanist trying to sell time share. Just for good measure, we’ve thrown in a gangly ‘inventor’ intent on redesigning the Rubik’s cube, and a bizarre staff meeting about baked beans.

Peculiarly, and for no apparent reason, each story takes place in Margate, with a possible diversion to Germiston. You’ll find here a rich and distinctly dry South African humour, and yet this is a new flavour never seen before, a touch above the regular run-of-the-mill antics of South African comedy. Pillay and Krueger are a brazen new voice, a brave new publishing venture set to ignite a new generation of readers into paroxysms of bewildered hysteria.

Review

“Through the 'rambles' of these characters, the authors devilishly deconstruct the quotidian and mundane, leaving the reader with little desire to breathe before the next over-the-top tale. Not a single story is without tremendously fine humour, a featherlight touch and a rib-tickling turn of phrase. If variety is the spice of life then humour is surely not far behind, and with this cracking collection Krueger and Pillay have established themselves as a brave new voice deserving of an appreciative audience.” - Jonathan Amid, LitNet.

Read more here: http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2011/07/04/introducing-shaggy-14-rather-amusing-rambles-by-anton-krueger-and-pravasan-pillay/

About the authors

Anton Krueger has published widely in many different genres, including plays, poems and a manifesto in Turkish (Amatorizm Manifestosu). His memoirish novella Sunnyside Sal (2010) is funny and moving.

Pravasan Pillay has published a chapbook of poetry called Glumlazi (2009). He runs the small press Tearoom Books based in Durban.

Interviews
Listen to an interview with Anton Krueger on SAFM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Dji7_1UOU

Read an interview with Pravasan Pillay: http://dyehard-press.blogspot.com/2011/06/dye-hard-interview-with-pravasan-pillay.html

Social networks

Like Shaggy on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Shaggy-14-Rather-Amusing-Rambles/206982336004549?sk=info

Follow Shaggy on Twitter @Shaggy_book.

Order a copy

Email: Mari Roelofse at mari@bkpublishing.co.za

Tel: +27 12 342 5347 / 4118

Order on Loot:  http://www.loot.co.za/product/anton-krueger-shaggy/fpxj-1693-g040