Tekweni Productions – förlag

A compelling and riveting social drama with strong elements of a mystery thriller set along Durban’s beachfront and harbour area. The action peels away the outer layers of respectable middle-class conformity revealing how, when relationships are based on illusionary expectations, external forces have the potential to destroy the delicate fabric of their imaginary safe worlds, as if they were no more than fragile sandcastles at the mercy of the incoming tide.

Set in a small South African farming district in the Transvaal during the 1929/30 Great Depression, The Thorn Child is a story of star-crossed lovers living in the stifling confines of a conservative community where colour-prejudice and social intolerance prevail. With skilful use of dialogue which is one of the author’s strengths, and finely drawn characters, the action moves at a fast pace drawing the reader into the turmoil that ensues from a long suppressed family secret that emerges many years later, demanding complete commitment to the narrative until the last page is turned.

Looks at a young man, straight out of school, who fought in the East African campaign in 1916. It outlines the depiction of the equatorial environment and the health challenging conditions under which the war was fought. Is a gripping story of war, intrigue, romance, humour and spiritual awakening. The year is 1916, and, at age 19 Ritchie is launched into a world conflict that he doesn’t fully comprehend. It is a time when the opposing sides in World War 1 are European countries that have drawn on their colonies to assist in their continental dispute. Ritchie volunteers for service in East Africa, and, although excited by the prospects of a great adventure, soon begins to feel like a pawn in a game of chess that is being manipulated by external forces to their own advantage. The intolerable conditions of the East African campaign, where more soldiers died of dysentery and malaria than of battle wounds, revives memories of his traumatic experience as a 5-year old when he and his Irish-born mother were incarcerated in an Anglo Boer War British concentration camp. It was to be the strong bond between mother and son, along with her indomitable spirit that kept him alive in an environment of insurmountable human suffering, disease and hunger. But it was a bond that was to be sorely tested and ultimately broken by circumstances which come back to haunt him as he retreats inwards after a near-death experience during the war in German East Africa. On his return from the war, he sets out to discover the truth about his mother that leads him into a dangerous encounter with kidnappers and criminals, and a liaison with a woman who was indirectly responsible for his mother’s downfall and demise.

Growing up in 'White' South Africa is a delightful journey back into the past that brings alive an era that should resonate with those who lived through it, and fascinate those who didn’t. The author captures the sounds, smells, nuances, events and special characteristics of a post war age that remain etched in his memory. His poignant recounting of the period of his youth against the background of a world that was rapidly undergoing change both at home and abroad is imbued with touches of humour, that comes with a retrospective view of the follies of youth. The journey moves from the secure environment of his early youth to adventures in the Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) bushveld after leaving school, and then onto London at the height of the Beat era in the late 50s, eventually returning to South Africa and university life in the swinging 60s, where his membership of an eccentric literary sect called the Druids contrasts with his political activities as an executive member of the student representative council and NUSAS that challenged the draconian laws of apartheid. Threading through all this are the many romantic relationships that earned him, much to his consternation, the reputation of being somewhat of a Casanova until he meets the girl with whom he is destined to continue the next stage of his life’s journey. The underlying subtext is a political narrative of a divided country where its people are systematically racially categorized and separated into allotted group areas, and how the author’s social and political awareness develops and changes during his growing up years as the apartheid system becomes increasingly harsh and evil. From being a purely passive observer and beneficiary of a privileged minority group, he begins to take an active stand in opposing the system.