The country’s constitution and Nelson Mandela are two of the biggest things that come to everyone’s mind across the world when they think about South Africa.
South Africa or Mzansi as we often call our beloved country, however, has more interesting treasures that make it an even better country to live in and also a good tourist attraction.
In this well researched book, Hagen Engler in a hilarious and informative way lists 123 reasons, why South Africa is an interesting country and also what makes its citizens uniquely proud.
From the Xhosa people’s unique way of mixing their language with English and still make sense when they speak, to our polite petrol attendants across the country.
The author also touches on our unique television shows such as ‘Our Perfect Wedding and ‘Date my Family’ and highlights singing our favourite sports national anthem ‘ Shosholoza’ in all our national sporting codes events, especially during Bafana Bafana and the Springboks matches.
Engler lists all these ‘national treasures’ as he calls them.
Reading this book can make you patriotic, get you to pledge allegiance to a country that went through brutal years of apartheid and colonization, but emerged strongly to be a democratic country in 1994.
Engler in this pocket book reminds the world and fellow South Africans that we are a nation that prides itself with our unique culture, breath taking landscapes, musical giants, proudly manufactured products that feeds the entire world and individuals who know the true meaning of hard working such as Trevor Noah and Caster Semenya.
This book serves more as a tour guide for all people visiting the country and for the locals, you are bound to identify with Engler’s list, as most of the things he lists are some of the things we encounter each and every day, like that guy at the robots who religiously asks you for R2.
However, most of the things that Engler listed in the book are centred in and around Johannesburg or Gauteng, which in way exposes his limited experience of other national treasures across the country, like our unique ‘musagwe’ fight in Venda and the famous Robben Island prison, that continues to attract tourists.
Overall this book is well-written, hilarious, informative and a good reminder of what makes us a rainbow nation that Nelson Mandela envisioned.
I will give it an 8/10 rating, for how it has been packaged and how Engler’s pen reminded the world that we have more to offer as a country,besides our global icons such as Mandela and Trevor Noah.
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