Fred Khumalo
Autore di Dancing the Death Drill
Sull'Autore
Fred Khumalo has been described as a 'reluctant Zulu', 'clever black' and an 'equal opportunity offender'. He completed his MA in creative writing from Wits University with distinction and is the recipient of a Nieman Fellowship from Harvard University. His writing has appeared in various mostra altro publications, including the Sunday Times, the Toronto Star, New African magazine, the Sowetan and Isolezwe. In 2008, he hosted Encounters, a public-debate television programme, on SABC 2. His books include Bitches Brew, Seven Steps to Heaven and Touch My Blood. mostra meno
Opere di Fred Khumalo
Opere correlate
Water: New Short Story Fiction from Africa: An Anthology from Short Story Day Africa (2015) — Collaboratore — 21 copie
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 1966
- Nazionalità
- South Africa
- Luogo di nascita
- Durban, South Africa
- Istruzione
- Technikon Natal, Durban
University of the Witwatersrand
Utenti
Recensioni
Premi e riconoscimenti
Potrebbero anche piacerti
Autori correlati
Statistiche
- Opere
- 11
- Opere correlate
- 1
- Utenti
- 61
- Popolarità
- #274,234
- Voto
- 3.9
- Recensioni
- 3
- ISBN
- 15
Reading this novel made me think about the processes of writing historical fiction and how that might impact on the text. Some historical novels emerge from an idea, or a theme, a distinctive character, or from the author's passionate interest in a particular era. And then there are authors who are seduced by a little-known event or person from history whose story deserves to be told. The genesis of these stories is the gap in the historical record. I usually prefer this type of historical fiction: I've learned a lot of history from historical novels!
However, authors setting the record straight or filling in the gaps need to be careful that on the one hand the history doesn't overwhelm the narrative at the expense of a good story, and on the other that the imagined lives of the characters doesn't detract from the credibility of the history. Dancing the Death Drill engages the reader with a dramatic beginning but at times the backstory to the out-of-character murders drifts into an overlong life story of the central character. It begins with a rather long account of his father's life and patterns of abandonment: De La Rey's desertion from the Boer forces; how he runs away with the chief's daughter from the Sotho village that offered him refuge, and how then he deserts Matshilisio, without warning or explanation. This part of the story ends rather abruptly.
Matshilisio and Pitso go in search of her own family but find the village has been taken over as farmland by the British, so she becomes a servant to an Indian family, and soon there is a fatherless baby with an Indian appearance. Saloojee and his family leave town, Matshiliso is institutionalised, but dies soon after. Her infant daughter does not survive conditions in the Bloemfontein orphanage, leaving Pitso Motaung an orphan.
Despite this inauspicious beginning, Pitso manages to get an education, and is fluent in many languages. His leadership qualities are innate, and these come to the fore when he enlists in the South African Native Labour Corps. The narration covers the training camps in the Cape, and the voyage to the battlefield, and the eventual collision of the Mendi with the cargo ship Darro with the loss of hundreds of lives.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/09/16/dancing-the-death-drill-by-fred-khumalo/… (altro)