CITY DEEP
Even if you call Johannesburg home, it remains an elusive beast – a city of secrets. But for those interested in its parts unknown, there’s a whole lot to discover in Fourthwall Books’ 10-part series called Wake Up, This is Joburg. The wildly successful collection of titles tells the stories of the golden metropolis in thoroughly readable essays by urban planner and researcher Dr Tanya Zack, accompanied by extraordinary images taken by photographer Mark Lewis.
The ‘dark concrete cavern’ of Kazerne taxi rank’s highway-underpass butchery in the first book – (2014) – (2014), relates the story of central character Tony, and his living museum of a house in the working-class suburb of Turffontein. In the third volume, 2014), the explosive colours and personalities of the Rockey Street Market in Yeoville are explored, and (book 8; 2017) tells the epic tale of how an Indian migrant family built a millinery empire in the now-defunct Mabro Mansions. The entire series is a tribute to everything that makes Joburg such an exciting place to live in.
