On his visit to Grahamstown for this year’s National Arts Festival, Leon de Kock, author of Bad Sex, took the time to survey the “settler country” of the Eastern Cape, embarking on a road trip from Grahamstown to Port Elizabeth.

De Kock’s visit was a literary one – he stayed at the Cock House in Grahamstown, once the home of André Brink, and visits Salem, the setting of part of JM Coetzee’s Disgrace. The weather-worn characters at Stanley’s Pub and Restaurant remind him of Athol Fugard’s play, A Lesson from Aloes:

Coming out of a bone-rattling chill at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, or at any other time of the year for that matter, you could do worse than explore the area between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth.

In Grahamstown, stay at the Cock House if you can. Built in the early 19th century, it was once the home of writer André Brink. The main suite makes you feel like you’re the colonial governor. And the lamb shanks are absolutely the best I’ve had in a long time. I ate them five days in a row, for lunch and supper.

• Complete article in the Sunday Times

Book details

• Bad Sex by Leon de Kock
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  EAN: 9781415201527
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Photo courtesy Kleinz1