Press Releases

Click here to buy a copy of ACID ALEX

A short while after the book was published I received a phone call from Koos Kombuis and he laughingly asked me how I was finding it being in the limelight. I didn't know what to say at the time but I reckon it can be bloody confusing if you let it. As I went through more interesting interviews and dreaded photoshoots I began to realise some things. In my opinion one cannot appraise any work of art - of any kind, based on the opinion of a single and possibly disgruntled individual. The more the merrier I reckon...

First, here are the excerpts printed by Struik in the latest edition of Acid Alex:

‘Acid Alex is quite simply one of the most shocking autobiographies I have ever read. It is also well-written, addictive, excellent.’

– Sue Blaine, Business Day

‘Heartbreaking! Entertaining! Intelligent!’

– Erns Grundling, SL magazine

‘Nothing I have read has sketched the scorched social landscape of South Africa’s last half-century with such intensity and honesty. Read it.’

– Charles Thesen, Marie Claire

‘There are elements of Hunter S Thompson, Herman Charles Bosman, William Burroughs and William Wharton. But in the end it is an amazing story told in a unique voice. A voice moulded by pain, a voice honed by a government reformatory..., whetted by the SADF, and sharpened by Pretoria Central.

It is the story of a man who went to hell and came back, a morality tale, a Bildungsroman, the narrative of a fuckup who found redemption, and the anthem of a lost generation.’

– Caspar Greeff, Sunday Times

‘Truly, as Koos Kombuis says, this is “an astonishingly breathless story” … Besides being a great read, Acid Alex is an invaluable record of a type of mania that gripped a certain type of South African in the last quarter of the 20th century. It’s a book that’s going to appeal to many young South Africans who currently have to turn to the United States for their myths of pointless excess, and it’s going to inspire them. Not necessarily in a particularly savoury way.’

– Chris Roper, Mail & Guardian

‘Lovejoy’s debut literary work is nothing if not a compelling read. It’s a trip beyond your wildest imagination – but not for the faint of heart.’

– Peter van der Merwe, Business in Africa

‘This at times disturbing book is always readable and will not fail to move you.’

– Garth Johnstone, Mercury

‘Acid Alex is not the type of book you dip in and out of, put down, and then forget. It’s a tough, gritty read which gets under your skin and stays there long after turning the final page.’

– Serai Ogle, Kalahari.net

‘Lovejoy is a good storyteller and a gifted writer with a keen insight into what makes people tick.’

– Luke Stubbs, Cape Times

‘Acid Alex is bar, reguit, onbeskof en blatant. Dit sal die boek ‘n onreg aandoen om dit tot ‘n spesifieke genre te probeer beperk. Dis outobiografies, maar dit het ook die spanningselement van ‘n speurverhaal en die emosionele stamina van ‘n uitstekende roman. Dit verloop byna soos ‘n dokumentêr waarin talle instansies en individue onder die skrywer se skerp tong moet deurloop, en hy raak plek-plek besonder kleurryk in die uitdrukking van sy misnoeë. Maar die boek is ook openhartig, gevoelvol en aangrypend.’

– Sophia van Taak, Die Burger

‘Al Lovejoy … recounts a life so extraordinary that just reading about it will shock you, challenge you, excite you, scare you, make you angry, make you sad, make you laugh out loud and most of all make you completely unable to put the thing down.’

Daniel Friedman, JHBLIVE

‘Alex Lovejoy’s Acid Alex is probably the best biography that I have read in the last decade ... It’s a “ware” South African story of a life lost in the darkness and eventual redemption, about what happens when the monkeys call the tune and Shylock comes calling for his pound of flesh. It’s in short one of the great South African rock ’n roll stories ever written and if there is any justice he should win a literary prize ... Highly recommended.’

Benjy Mudie, Rock of Ages

'In terms of popular culture and understanding a couple of generations of white South Africans, this is the most important book ever written about South Africa. In terms of what it does and tries to do, it may still make the list of most important books in total about South Africa. Regardless, this is a book that demands to be read.'

Dave Chislett, The Chiz

Here is a review from the S.A. Times in the U.K.

Here are some of the full South African releases:

I've decided not to cut out the good bits and ignore the bad. As much as is possible I will just publish the full article on the site electronically as is. (Later when time permits I will translate the Afrikaans ones for my foreign friends and retype the non-electronic hardcopies.)