Barking at Dogs
$26.17
- Paperback
192 pages
- Release Date
29 September 2026
Summary
Leon Lazarus grew up on the edge of white suburbia in apartheid South Africa, where the anthills stood taller than he did and the wild bunnies had the run of the veld. He failed exams, started bands, dodged the military police, and stumbled through the absurdities of a country at war with itself.
Barking at Dogs is a riotous, tender, and oh-so-South African collection of true and true-ish tales from the backrooms of a family shop and the wild edges of late-apartheid South Afri…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9798894126548 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Leon Lazarus |
| Publisher: | Studio Deiora |
| Imprint: | Studio Deiora |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 192 |
| Release Date: | 29 September 2026 |
| Weight: | 263g |
| Dimensions: | 11mm x 152mm x 229mm |
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Critics Review
The author has done a fantastic job of interweaving humorous anecdotes with the ominous backdrop of apartheid South Africa. I absolutely recommend this short story collection, and hope to read more from this author.
Joe Cheverie
As someone who grew up in South Africa just after apartheid, and attended the same university as Leon Lazarus, the writing in this book took me right back to the people and places of a vibrant, cracked, diverse and deeply endearing country. The writing is so vivid and packed with nostalgia and memory, even in the places and parts where you’d rather turn away. You simply cannot. That’s what it’s like to be South African, sometimes.
Tammy Sutherns
Set in late Apartheid South Africa, this book offers a unique, colorful, beautifully descriptive glance at stories from the author’s life. The author’s innate, witty storytelling ability drew me in; I felt like I was there experiencing the stories in real time.
Courtney Cohen
Leon has the incredible gift of sharing his stories so that they feel like your own - I especially loved being part of his hilarious honeymoon (I could relate!). The alleged six degrees of separation in our community were suddenly removed as I read more of Leon’s memoir - I could easily have grown up at the same time and place (familiarity means everything!).
Whether you also grew up in Apartheid South Africa, or you’re a first time visitor to that beautiful country, I can highly recommend this magnificent memoir to you - it hits all the feels…!
Jacqui Kaplan lipschitz
Leon Lazarus
Leon Lazarus grew up on the edge of white suburbia in South Africa, where the anthills were higher than he could climb and his best friend Fishcakes was always up for skipping stones across the dam or pushing over a log to see what scuttled out.
He came of age during apartheid in a country that had gone mad. In the mid-80s, he threw everything he owned into his baby-poo coloured Mazda 323 and drove off to Rhodes University in what was then Grahamstown. He started a rock band with friends on campus and in Rhini Township, took a spot on student radio, founded a student organisation and a clutch of student publications, and marched alongside his fellow students for justice and racial equality. Leon does not claim to have been on the front lines of the struggle against apartheid. He reckons he was more often three miles back, hiding behind the restroom. But he did a few things he is proud of, and he has the stories to tell.
His first book, Barking at Dogs, is a collection of funny, tender, true and true-ish stories about growing up on the ragged edges of late-apartheid South Africa.
Over the years Leon has worked in advertising and marketing. He now lives in San Diego, California, with his wife and dog. His daughters are ten minutes away. Leon is already at work on what comes next.
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