Book reviews: Swimming with Sharks & Arrows of the Universe
'Arrows of the Universe' by Patrick McGaffin is a long read, but it deserves the time.
Picture: iStock
Swimming with Sharks: Simple Business Guidelines
Adriaan Roets
Rating: 33333
Author: Gavin Moffat
Publisher: Tracey McDonald
Price: R230
ISBN: 978-0-6399395-8-2
Business and inspiration
I always tell people that the best lessons I get for running my business happen when I’m not actually running it, but rather when I’m busy with other things I’m passionate about.
Gavin takes this to a whole new level.
Swimming with Sharks is a series of teachings wrapped up in a very powerful analogy – his love for scuba diving. The author’s passion is clear, and the lessons come through fast and hard.
This is one of those rare books that you need to read with a highlighter in hand. I started reading and hardly came up for air.
Arrows of the Universe
Amanda Watson
Author: Patrick McGaffin
Publisher: Porcupine Press
Price: R395
Fighting an epic internal battle
Make no mistake, Arrows of the Universe by Patrick McGaffin is a long read, but it deserves the time if your penchant lies towards the literary equivalent of a TV series.
McGaffin tells the story of Justin Marshall’s travails through life, and in his self-examination of the situations he finds himself in.
As a hard news journalist, I found interest in the former and his solutions to them, and found a certain amount of introspection triggered in one’s own life when reading the latter.
And this is what a novel, for me, should do. It should allow you to step into the protagonist’s shoes, build a picture of their environment in your mind and walk with him or her.
The blurb sums the book up nicely: “In his quest for a sanctuary away from the demands and pressures of Johannesburg, Justin Marshall buys land in the rugged lowveld wilderness, hoping that it will serve as a sanctuary for his daughter who has been left partially disabled due to his negligence – perhaps for himself too.”
It sets the tone for what is an epic internal battle.
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