Why I Wrote the Book
Teaching about the excesses of history across a broad-spectrum of society is difficult. It is the hope that this fictional novel, which is a medical mystery/thriller set in apartheid South Africa, will capture the attention of many readers who may not have otherwise been interested in learning of the excesses of history. And that as a result, not only will the readers be captured by a very compelling story line, but that as the intrigue and mystery unfolds also be subliminally educated as to the history and abhorrence of the abuses suffered in the name of segregation. In this sense then this is a truly mixed genre novel written in the hope that compelling adventure can also be instructional on many levels. That it has been optioned as a film before publication augurs well for this intent.
The background to writing this novel came after I spent almost 10 years in South Africa during the era of the apartheid government. While the majority of that time I was studying medicine at the University of Cape Town/Groote Schuur hospital, two of those years were also spent researching in the area of politics as part of a Ph.D. The impact of that experience and in a place such as South Africa, on someone who had grown up in a multi-national non-segregated society such as New Zealand, was significant. Being part of a society which segregated people according to their race, and legally accorded them a position in society according to their colour was an experience made for controversy and writing.
The release of Nelson Mandela was a significant step in South Africa's ultimate democratisation. Not that this was an easy transition, with it being opposed by many Whites and some Blacks. During this period of transition a radical black group the Pan African Congress, whose motto was ‘one white farmer one bullet’ staged a terrorist attack on the church which I was in. Being the victim of a terrorist attack, in which one is seriously injured, provides a rich vein of realism that one can share with readers, albeit in a fictionalised format. To be able to portray the drama of that night and weave it into a mystery that is appealing to many was as challenging as a Ph.D.; but immensely more rewarding. Much has been told about the excesses of this era and perhaps it could be argued that it should not be remembered, that new history is being made. But if as some will claim history should be left in the past, with no backward glance under the carpet, there is the risk that what has happened in many forms could be repeated.
The dismantling of apartheid has progressed in two phases. Firstly, the dismantling of legal separation according to race or colour which was rapid following the election of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. Secondly, the slower transition and acceptance of equality in people's minds. Social segregation may take many generations to happen. The intention of this book is to contribute in some small way to the second process by documenting and incorporating into a fictional novel some of the experiences and research of the author in a way that has some historical realism compelling the fiction.