Be Kind to yourself and go sit somewhere with Clarence Hamilton's "Good Morning, Fish.
You'll smell the aromas of tripe curry and pap and remember the Aunty who pulled up her nose to the #kasi food, you'll recognize the pretty girl whose mother forced her to Wella straight her hair to escape from her roots, the O'ms who got paid every fortnight and nursed a bottle of whiskey way into Sunday morning, the Aunty who tried to manage and manipulate her own violent beatings, because neither community and state recognized that she needed help, the melting pot of race, class and religion.
The school authorities (church?) who easily assisted the Apartheid system in celebrating and upholding the divisions - the ideal Republiek which held our people into a passive submission, always reminding them that they were a step higher and better than blacks. You'd understand the #impipi mindset a little reverently?
Here too, you'll find the unity of these small communities at times when someone breaks or aches. The neighboring lending/borrowing to make a pot of food at sunset and the #glammaboys - stoepsitters, playing dice and cat calling the girls who took their daily walks to the shops.
Clarence Hamilton writes about two boys' escapades and experiences growing up in Noordgesig - the story tells the Joster/Pieraks colored experience, growing up during 60's and 70's. Their stories reflect the search for self identity in the time of SA Apartheid, the freedom to choose one's understanding of humanity.
I can almost hear a laughing O'm Chris Van Wyk say “Ah, comrade, you used some nice English words there.”
It's a MNCA (grand-lekke-delish) book kawus (bra's) and I sincerely hope it lands in the list of prescribed books for high school learners.
Xarra Books Xarra Books - Books, Music & Art
Reviewed by: Kim Dearham
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