Book launch at the Durban Jewish Club

Evan Kaplan, a retired medical doctor living in Cape Town, will attend the launch of his book TIME, Gentlemen! (published by the local KZN publishers Osborne Porter Literary Services) on Thursday, November 24, 2011 at the Durban Jewish Club in The Lounge at 5.30 for 6pm.

Durban writer Patrick Coyne says: “When I started reading the manuscript of this book before editing it, I couldn’t put it down. I assure you that this is not only a great read, but a once-in-a-lifetime read. There is only one thing better than reading Kaplan’s book and that’s meeting the man personally, and you can do that on November 24, in the Durban Jewish Club’s beautiful lounge.

“This is a life-story with a difference. Evan Kaplan’s TIME, Gentlemen! has a charm and wide range of interest that readers of many types are going to find irresistible.

“This is no mere book of memoirs. It is at once the story of a South African boy growing up in a typically homely hotel in a Karoo dorp, of a medical student whose parents had the compassion to allow him to continue his studies despite initial failure, of a young doctor who rubbed shoulders at Groote Schuur Hospital with heart-transplant pioneer Dr Christiaan Barnard, and of one who, in his retirement, works for the poorest of the poor who live on the Cape Flats.

Wide-eyed appreciation

“But Kaplan does not merely recount the events in his life, he does so with a wide-eyed appreciation of the world around him, whether it be the Afrikaans names, words, and colloquialisms with which he grew up in Colesberg in the northern Cape Province, the traditional South African dishes that he describes in such mouth-watering detail, the flora and fauna of the Karoo, or simply by means of his observation of the many fascinatingly different fellow humans that he has met.

“Kaplan’s writing style is full of intriguing and surprising moments. He has the gift of describing situations with a glorious use of English yet never falling into the trap of over-writing. His language has a flair that belongs to a writer who has won several prizes in competitions in various genres. He also has a delightful sense of humour – many of his stories and anecdotes are nothing short of hilarious!

“Finally, he is a writer whose love of his fellow men, with all their oddities, shines through on every page. Reading TIME, Gentlemen! by Evan Kaplan is a rich experience not to be missed.”

 RSVP to Patrick Coyne on voicep@mweb.co.za or tel. 031 572 3077 – for catering purposes.

**For those who can’t attend the launch, Evan will be at a signing session at Exclusive Books, Pavilion, on Saturday morning, November 26. Contact Patrick for more info.