Author Sven Axerad launches third book

Sven Axelrad launched his third novel, The Nicotine Gospel, at the Book Lounge in Roeland Street on Thursday May 16.

In conversation with radio talk show host, Pippa Hudson, he said the book is set in Durban from the mid-80s to 2014.

According to Axelrad, the book is about brothers Nathan and Danny, aged 6 and 4, whose mother is struck by lightning. Their father, bestselling author Esben Muesli, mostly leaves the boys to their own devices apart from the few hours a week when he takes them on road trips to teach them about the nicotine gospel, which is that anything you need to know about a person depends on what type of cigarette they smoke. 

Years later, when the estranged brothers hear that their father has died, they embark on a road trip to Cape Town to attend his funeral. The book is filled with sibling love and rivalry; moths, coffee mug tattoos, Joy Division T-shirts, Bob Dylan and, obviously, cigarettes.