Africa, Latin America and the Middle East through literature

Sibusiso Nyembezi

Translated by Sandile Ngidi

ISBN: 9780955233999

Size: 216mmx140mm

Paperback

200 pages

Available: Feb 08

Countryside and community in apartheid South Africa

A suave urban swindler invites himself to the sleepy hinterland of Nyanyadu where he dupes a well-meaning but naive local notable into a deceitful partnership.

Pretending to be a modern-day Moses on a mission to save the people, CC Ndebenkulu is nothing more than a con man whose artifice exposes one man's obsession with instant riches.

Set in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands of rural South Africa, The Rich Man of Pietermaritzburg is an enchanting tale of neurotic ambition that unfolds against the backdrop of the systematic destruction of the African peasantry and the loss of their land and liberties.

At times hilarious, at times tender, The Rich Man of Pietermaritzburg explores the fateful confrontation between pastoral benevolence and urban slyness in a countryside undergoing accelerated change.

Translated by Sandile Ngidi, it is a vibrant celebration of South Africa's rich oral tradition and was selected as one of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century. It is the first English translation from the from the Zulu original (Inkinsela yase Mgungundlovu).

"The novel is rich in resonant aphorism, embedded proverbs, comic mise en scène, and what can be described as compulsively readable dialogue ... Ngidi's elegant rendering of the prose of Nyembezi ... captures beautifully the description, dialogue and spirit of the novel, and its subtle commentary on Nguni philosophy and Zulu society." - The Times, London

"The book is often funny, with farcical incidents, and often moving. Despite the gentle pace, it has considerable narrative drive, and makes for an entertaining read." - The Witness, Pietermaritzburg

“Surprisingly far ahead of its time, The Rich Man of Pietermartizburg narrates a familiar story of a man who has adopted the ways of the 'white man' to further his own nefarious schemes. Yet the story is told not as a tale of warning of a loss of culture, but is rather a celebration of a sense of community that apartheid assaulted, but failed to break” - African Review of Books

Sibusiso Nyembezi (1919-2000) was a Zulu novelist, poet, scholar, teacher and editor. He forged a career as an academic in African languages. He worked at the publishers Shuter and Shooter in Pietermaritzburg, from the early 1960s until he retired.

The Rich Man of Pietermartizburg