Hello Gentle Reader,
The renowned South African writer and academic, Zoë Wicomb died at the age of 76. As a writer, Zoë Wicomb traced the complexities and instability of South Africa as it transitioned from authoritarian apartheid to the state it is today, but also how the remnants of apartheid continue to haunt and linger in contemporary South African society. The novel “David’s Story,” set in the closing chapters of the former apartheid regime. The novel traces the story of David Dirkse, whose life is moved to the ground level, after previously working clandestine organizations and movement to topple the apartheid government and system. Now with the African National Congress legal and legitimate, there is a dawning new South Africa on the horizon, while the previous one gradually fades in its twilight hours. Now with legitimacy granted to previous outlawed organizations, David finds himself with time to trace his own heritage, and the complexity of coloured identity. Political violence, however, is the norm not the exception, and soon enough David’s momentary peace is shattered when he is listed as a target on a political assassination list. What follows are questions of political emancipation and freedom. “David’s Story,” is a complex novel encompassing political analysis and thriller, while questioning the reliability of historical records during times of crisis and political instability. “Playing in the Light,” Zoë Wicomb continues to examine and autopsy the post-apartheid state, the lingering racial tensions and attitudes still maintained or held onto, it explores the reckoning Marion has when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission dredges up information which bring into question her own identity, her family history, proving that in the new state of South Africa, personal interests and national politics are not always delineated. Zoë Wicomb’s work continually examined the complexities of the personal, national, and political in the post-apartheid South Africa. How the legacy of historical injustices and institutional racism reverberates throughout all society and infects personal and familiar relationships; in addition to other themes of family secrets, exile, motherhood, the weight of history and its veracity. Zoë Wicomb’s ability to include the personal life and domestic scenes as they relate to political discourse and change, are key components to her work being viewed as multilayered, grounding extraordinary change within palpable, in addition to her ability to masterfully employ and incorporate metafictional techniques to fragment and reexamine perspectives from multiple lenses and points of view and question truth as it is and as its testified. In short, Zoë Wicomb was a talented and complex writer, whose work continually examined both apartheid and the reckoning of a post-apartheid South Africa.
Rest in Peace, Zoë Wicomb.
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
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