One of the perks of ageing is that you have lived through a multitude of scenarios that can be life-changing, eye-opening and hilarious; Merle, aged 75, shares her insights in a funny memoir that proves you are never too old to live life to its fullest.
South Africa (03 June 2025) – Merle Levin opened her memoir with comments about what she would have preferred her book to be named, giving her editor the side eye for not letting it happen; I was giggling! Her preference? Paying homage to the dung beetle and its ability to roll shit backwards. Yup, attention instantly caught.
You don’t live through 75 years in South Africa and abroad and 54 years of marriage and not come out with a brilliant sense of humour.
Merle decided to pen her life into a memoir after her 75th birthday and surviving the pandemic alongside her husband, Jeff. But it wasn’t just these two big life moments; it was all the life moments she had collected over the years that were just too good to miss. The book makes you feel like you are sitting with your granny and listening to all the antics of her youth gone by; Merle’s tales take you down a nostalgic path as she shares a collection of life lessons and advice on how to “fail better” at life.
Many of her chapters are based around food, but it’s the messages and the lessons she shares in each effort that stand out most. From meals sat in painful silence to failed sourdough breads and buying cookies from neighbours. These are just preludes to finding a connection with your partner again, refusing to let failure define your efforts and having grace when people just show up in life unexpectedly.
Merle, like myself, has a collection of wooden cooking implements next to her stove that she has collected over the years, each with a special memory attached to a person she met or a destination she reached. This inconspicuous detail made me love her more. Granted, she shares it after just having faced a giant baboon in her home, out to ruin her bread-baking exploits by stealing all the flour! But still, this book felt familiar, wholesome, in fact.
With humour and sass, Merle’s views of the world are a comforting cup of tea on a drizzly Sunday afternoon. They make you feel like the rollercoasters of life are absolutely normal because if she could live through them, why not you?
Back of the Book
The World According to Merle is a wildly humorous and heartwarming memoir by a woman who defies age and convention. At 75, Merle is a vibrant force of nature who’s lived a full, rich life on her own terms.
Whether she’s learning about the navigational skills of the dung beetle in the Kalahari Desert, swimming with her “Soggy Bottoms” group – come rain, ice or shine – or laughing through passionate arguments with Jeff, her husband of over 50 years, Merle has never been a fan of rules.
Born into a 1950s Jewish family in Vereeniging, she has embraced a life of rebellion and bold choices – from escaping apartheid in the ’70s to starting anew in Canada with little money and even fewer plans.
On this rollicking journey through her extraordinary life, we are given profound insights and wisdom gained from living on the edge.
“Merle gives us all permission to live life to the full through her journey where hope endures and the human spirit triumphs.” – Joanne Hichens
If you would like to learn more about this book, visit its website here. It is also available at all major literary retailers and online.
Interested in more proudly South African books? You can find more of our book reviews here.
Sources: Book Supplied for Review
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