Andrew Brown’s New Book: Street Blues

by Amanda on Jul 21st, 2008

Zebra Press is pleased to announce the publication of Sunday Times Fiction Prize-winning author Andrew Brown’s new book, Street Blues.

Street Blues is Brown’s first work of non-fiction, in which he writes about his experiences as a police reservist, taking the reader into the day-to-day life of a policeman on the beat.

The book covers car chases, accident scenes, hijackings, gangsterism, prostitution, drug busts, firefighting and other dramas that comprise daily fare for policemen and women. Shifting between tragedy and humour, Brown’s writing gives personal insight into a world that is normally accessed only through statistics and news reports – but one that is perilous, sometimes shocking, and that affects us all.

Brown alluded to his work as a reservist at the Cape Town launch of his novel Inyenzi. In this video clip, he relates an amusing exchange with a certain Inspector Minaar of the Mowbray police station:

Video: Andrew Brown on his police reservist mentor, Inspector Minaar

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Look for Street blues on shelves at the end of July.

About the Author

Andrew Brown is an author, an advocate and a reservist sergeant in the South African Police Services. While a student in the 1980s he was arrested after confrontation with police and was sentenced to imprisonment. On appeal, the Cape High Court overturned the sentence and imposed community service instead.

Brown now practises as an advocate in the same High Court that heard his appeal. Since 1999 he has also worked as a police reservist, his duties taking him from the tree-lined streets of Rosebank to the squalor of Joe Slovo squatter camp in Langa.

His previous books are Inyenzi, about the Rwandan genocide, and the police thriller Coldsleep Lullaby, which won the 2006 Sunday Times Fiction Prize.

Book Details