CC Mandl

Who I'd like to meet:

PEOPLE WHO ENJOY THEIR BRAINS - ARTISTS, WRITERS, ANYONE WITH CREATIVE TALENTS AND A SENSE OF HUMOUR, INTERESTING BEINGS EVERYWHERE............................ ABOUT 'BUNGI GUNGI'................... Rules at work and home are of paramount importance. Nigel Bullstone, however, has no respect for parameters of any kind. Behind exemplary behaviour and pressed suits, he enjoys a wildly different life in his head. This deception is exposed by chance, and his livid father books him into a hard-line motivational course to straighten him out. His journey to absolution is waylaid when his car and his nerves break down en-route. A stranger called Winston rescues him from the roadside; in a mutinous state he accepts a dodgy invitation to go camping in lieu of obeying orders, and then learns that Winston’s openly hostile friend, Ramon, is to join them. Stressed out, his unfettered thoughts run amok. He finds himself poised on the edge of madness and the highest Bungi Jump on Earth; the stupefying leap into nothingness produces a bizarre entity that claims to be his Alter Ego and Personal Counsel. And it is not alone. Ramon has also acquired one, and Winston has had one all along. Nigel’s life takes on a new perspective................................... My first book review: BOOK REVIEW by Norm Goldman, B.A. LL.L, Retired Title Attorney, Publisher and Editor of Bookpleasures.com.......................... Bungi Gungi is South African Author CC Mandl’s first book and she certainly forges a most unique world of characters replete with their alter egos or as they are referred to as their Gungi. For a debut author, Mandl’s book is quite ambitious in its form, dialogue and narrative. Moreover, Mandl displays a talent as an acute observer of people and relationships with her insight into the misfortunes that have befallen some members of our societies who may be different and who prefer to snub the conventional agenda. The three principal engaging and eccentric characters that populate Mandl’s world are rather diverse and complex which keep the narrative moving. We have Ramon, a gay person, who ran away from a family who disowned him, Nigel, who is artistic and very talented whose father has a low opinion of him and who likewise escaped from his family. Then there is Winston who grew up as an orphan when “he discovered his parents had gone without him to the greener pastures of heaven.” As the plot develops, a composite portrait of all three characters slowly emerges depicting their flaws and imperfections as well as the indignities that have plagued them. Mandl is blessed with a fertile imagination with masterful animated writing skills, which at times reminded me of poetry rather than prose as she combines tragedy and comedy with a great deal of sage advice thrown in from the mouths of the Gungis. The story is beautifully woven with compassionate character descriptions that are immensely appealing and believable. The characters offer no easy answers to their separate plights as they courageously examine their torment and anger. All told, Bungi Gungi is a sincere, entertaining, and poignant story of a world that is sometimes quite cruel to those who don’t conform, however, listening to our alter egos may just be the remedy that some of us need from time-to-time to help us cope. I look forward to hearing more from CC Mandl.