Brilliant. Funny. Spot on. These are the descriptions that come to mind when paging through Anton Kannemeyer’s latest offering, Alphabet of Democracy.
Described as an “illustrated A-to-Z guide to the absurdities of life in the democratic South Africa”, Kannemeyer critiques the status-quo with a keen sense of justice and truth-telling. His satirical drawings and prints comment on every aspect of public life in South Africa, from issues to events and personalities. For Kannemeyer, there are no sacred cows.
The perceptiveness and humour of the comments are really brought to life through the illustrations, where X is for Xenophobia, Y is for Yobs ("a raw recruit, a teenage loafer") and Z is for Zuma. Or: “Z is not for Zuma, but for Zapiro (ironically both the satirist and his subject will be remembered in history – the one with admiration and the other with contempt.)”
Alphabet of Democracy is published by Jacana.
