‘My father and brother died in this club’, Victor thought as he stared at the faded sign reading The Zulu Club above the front door. Was he next? The macabre idea came out of nowhere and Victor shook his head to get rid of it. He had sometimes wondered if his family was cursed, having lost both his father and brother to murder in the same club. He tried not to dwell on such thoughts.
Set against the backdrop of the lively Sotobe township in Johannesburg, The Resurrection tells a thrilling new-age story of love, betrayal, and legacy, all wrapped up in 256 pages.
Written by KwaZulu-Natal-born Sphesihle Qwabe, this debut novel tells the story of the last remnants of the Zulu family hoping to reclaim the glory of their once-successful tavern, The Zulu Club, after the deaths of the patriarch, Bantu Zulu and the eldest brother, Hector.
Caught up in his own world, middle brother Victor Zulu now must travel home from his life in Durban and take control of the club and fend off friends and foes who hope to take over the location for their own nefarious gains.
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Meanwhile, the chemistry and tension building between Victor and his brother’s widow Busie – whom he secretly loves – keep the readers hooked.
Ultimately, in this sterling debut, Sihle has succeeded in writing a daring novel filled with passion and suspense, with fresh dialogue to match.
Sihle gives us a glimpse into what prompted him to write such a gripping story as his debut.
“It was life as I’ve seen it in my world. Growing up in the ghetto, we mostly get to witness success and its glamour from guys that own night clubs. They’re usually dubbed ‘Bra So and So’ and venerated in the community. But no one is ever fooled by the darkness that usually follow such men. So, my desire was to tell their story without prejudice; how they make the most of the only resources at their disposal.”
Readers are taken through this journey mainly through Victor’s eyes, and we get to see a man who battles with doing what is right for himself and what is right for the people he loves.
“Victor is human, warts and all. He is a dutiful son, a loyal brother, and a lover. Like all humans, he is a combination of all things. The angels and devils exist in all of us alike, simultaneously,” Sihle shares.
“But Victor is self-aware, and so he easily brings forth the parts of himself that best serve the situation at hand. He is also a strong man, in the truest sense of the word. He clearly demonstrates that the loudest guy in the room is not always the strongest. He gets things done, without overly announcing his actions.”
Revealing the real-world inspirations behind some of the characters in the novel, Sihle says, “Bantu Zulu was inspired by an elderly gentleman I once met handing flyers in the streets, and the desire that my own father might have been more like that man.
“I was moved by that man’s story, and that he was not idle despite his circumstances. He inspired me to tell a story of a man who tries and sacrifices his ego and ‘morals’ for the sake of his family. Victor Zulu is my manifestation of what such drive in a father can do for a son.”
With such enthralling characters, The Resurrection also sheds light on the woes of building generational legacy in the new South Africa with vivid descriptions of the world around the Zulus to keep the reader captivated and questioning the societal norms many township communities in Johannesburg fall victim to.
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When it comes to the kinds of messages and themes Sihle is hoping readers will take away from the novel, he explains, “That masculinity is not necessarily noise. You can get much more done when you don’t announce your every move. Family comes before everything. Right or wrong, you stick with your own. And that you can achieve so much more when you have the right woman by your side.
“But apart from all of that, I’d sincerely hoped that the reader can enjoy The Resurrection purely for its sake, read it as a way of having fun, and perhaps be inspired to read more books for pleasure.”
- The Resurrection by Sihle Qwabe (published by Kwela, an imprint of NB Publishers) is available at all good bookstores nationwide and on takealot.com. The recommended retail price of R285.
