The
ravages and vagaries of hiv/aids...for years it does seem to be devastating sub-
saharan Africa and southern Africa in particular. The author, Ntshingila has
been publishing fine creative works for some ten years now, including her debut
novel, Shameless.
Her empathetic, humorous, yet serious style has always been in evidence. This her latest work is sombre indeed, and undulates powerfully with rippling undercurrents that grip the reader, as a pertinent society is delineated and the young protagonist, Mvelo gets somewhat sucked into a whirlpool of angst and despair.
One can imagine the shock of the girl - all of 14 years old - when she discovers that her mother is dying of AIDS and that the world can be a thing of unspeakable horror.
And at the end we get to understand the haunting, doleful ramifications of the title of this work, as we read, re the departed ones (slightly paraphrased here):
We walk amongst the living…
Wondering about the orphans we left behind
We kiss them with rain
I was reminded of some of Ngugi wa Thiongo's exalted fiction in this work, as there are shifts in narration with many other characters introduced; but such background information is relevant and pertinent as we get to understand how this family is rocked and beleaguered, with so much sexual violence and even mindless apathy along the way.
How do the very young get to grips with such harrowing goings-on in society? How has it come to this? Did this brilliant author do research for this special work? Probably she is just keyed in to one aspect of poignant reality of her society - like in her outrageous debut, Shameless.
Futhi Ntshingila understands her characters inside out, and is now without any doubt one of the most significant Black authors in South Africa, with ever-increasing studies on her work by perceptive readers, pundits, and academics.
Her empathetic, humorous, yet serious style has always been in evidence. This her latest work is sombre indeed, and undulates powerfully with rippling undercurrents that grip the reader, as a pertinent society is delineated and the young protagonist, Mvelo gets somewhat sucked into a whirlpool of angst and despair.
One can imagine the shock of the girl - all of 14 years old - when she discovers that her mother is dying of AIDS and that the world can be a thing of unspeakable horror.
And at the end we get to understand the haunting, doleful ramifications of the title of this work, as we read, re the departed ones (slightly paraphrased here):
We walk amongst the living…
Wondering about the orphans we left behind
We kiss them with rain
I was reminded of some of Ngugi wa Thiongo's exalted fiction in this work, as there are shifts in narration with many other characters introduced; but such background information is relevant and pertinent as we get to understand how this family is rocked and beleaguered, with so much sexual violence and even mindless apathy along the way.
How do the very young get to grips with such harrowing goings-on in society? How has it come to this? Did this brilliant author do research for this special work? Probably she is just keyed in to one aspect of poignant reality of her society - like in her outrageous debut, Shameless.
Futhi Ntshingila understands her characters inside out, and is now without any doubt one of the most significant Black authors in South Africa, with ever-increasing studies on her work by perceptive readers, pundits, and academics.
- Malome Eric
Thank you, Malome Bolaji!
ReplyDeleteIntriguing, tantalisingly talented writer, Mme Ntshingila
ReplyDeleteThis is poignant stuff. Will a real cure for AIDS be discovered in the near future?
ReplyDelete