This novel has had plenty of praise from its publisher, and has apparently been a hit with ‘younger’ readers. For me, though, it was a slow starter. Early in the story, for example, the dialogue was horribly formal. “Morning Frank”, “Hello, Daniel” – teenage boys speaking to each other on a school bus like businessmen in stilted suits. With such stylistic tics, I was skeptical about how the narrative was going to pan out. But things did get more exciting for the reader, and for Daniel Fox.

Daniel Fox is a dead boy. Even when he was alive, things were tough: he lived with his mom, and constantly had to fend off his nemesis, the aptly-named school bully, Levi D’Arc. (I had some fun toying with the anagram.)

After a dodgy encounter at the museum, Daniel is hit by a truck (yeah!), and he comes to pretty messed up in an underworld waiting room, where he must prepare to be rated. In this strange, segregated environment in which he will come to live, ostensibly the most noble city of Arison, capital of the underworld, each new arrival is evaluated by number, depending on how his previous life has been lived. You stick your head in an ordinary cardboard box, and whoa! your memories are read, and assessed. (Keep that in mind if you check some old carton lying around at the back of the supermarket. Careful. The choice is yours. . .)

In the Arison ratings, a score of 1 is the best, 5 the worst, and Daniel is given the rare distinction of a numero uno. Then, in addition to a top lifestyle as a Number 1, he is invited to become a Lower Lord, one of the crew that runs the whole underground show.

So far, so good, but Daniel soon discovers that his status is a demonic curse; all is not what it seems. In fact, all the other Number 1s have mysteriously disappeared. . .

“If you listen carefully, and the wind is in the right direction, you will hear them, as I now did  - the spectral voices, the soft whisper from the ancients. Listen now, not with your ears but with your heart and your soul. Sink into yourself, below the sound of your breathing, deep into the underbelly of your consciousness.”   [Revenge of Kali, 14]

INTRODUCTION
Hassim’s second  novel, Revenge of Kali, is a skilful amalgam of historical, political, and  social-cultural  narratives. The novel is divided into three parts,  the Canefields of Natal, the Duchene and the Casbah of Durban, and all three are connected through the life of the central character, Thiru.  Thiru  lives in Riverside,  having moved from the Duchene and the Casbah, and he expresses a longing  to know of his past.  He  plans to go to the chilly canefields to reconnect with the stories of his forebears.  As he says: “For some time now, I had been preoccupied by thoughts of the arrival of my ancestors  from their distant village in Madras” [13]. Thiru  is clearly on a quest to find his roots, and the novel  plots his convoluted pilgrimage, as he traverses the Canefields, the Duchene and the Casbah.

Readers outside South Africa may not know why the title ‘Coconut’ is such an eye-catching one, but all South Africans will know that coconut is a slang term for a person who is black on the outside, but white on the inside – just like a coconut.

Enter Ofilwe, one of two heroines in Kopana Matlwa’s debut novel. Ofilwe is rich and pampered, living in a wealthy white suburb and rapidly losing any remnants of her culture. Fiks, her counterpart, is an ambitious waitress from the township who serves Ofilwe’s family their weekly Sunday brunch. Both women are struggling to find a sense of identity in a new South Africa that doesn’t define race as clearly as it once did, but still adheres to an unwritten racial code.

The novel, which won the European Union Literary Award in 2007, is a fascinating glimpse into an all-too-common issue, made even more interesting by the fact that the author is herself a priviledged black woman. The book is divided into Part One and Part Two – Part One belongs to Ofilwe, and tells the story of a displaced young girl through conversations, diary entries, and narration. Part Two is the story of Fikile, or Fiks as she likes to be known, through conversations and thoughts. The writing is honest and vivid, although at times a little immature – the author started writing it straight after high school. That said, it proves that Matlwa will be a talent to watch in future years.

Recommended for anyone wanting a glimpse into the mind of a segment of the New South Africa.