It is 1993, and Aubrey Tearle's world is shutting down. He has recently retired from a lifetime of proofreading telephone directories. His favourite neighbourhood haunt in Johannesburg, the Café Europa, is about to close its doors; the familiar old South Africa has almost vanished. Standards, he grumbles, are in decline, so bad-tempered, conservative Tearle embarks on a grandiose plan to enlighten his fellow citizens. The results are disastrous, hilarious and poignant. A classic novel about the post-apartheid era, brimming with riotous imagery, urban satire and outrageous wordplay. This tour de force from Ivan Vladislavic was awarded the South African Sunday Times Fiction Prize.