by Deon Meyer (Human & Rousseau, R240)
It was an interesting exercise. Writers will always tell you to read them in their original language when possible, which naturally makes sense. If it is a possibility, why wouldn’t you?
I started reading Meyer when his first books were translated from Afrikaans to English. I loved it but have ever since always read the English translations as they became available for review.
I’m a huge fan and was pleased when I received Kobra, which is his latest thriller and still has to be published in English. Don’t worry, it will come and I’m sure it will be soon. In the meantime I was keen to see how I would experience the Afrikaans. A friend who has read both thought the Afrikaans was too realistic while English, her second language, fell more gently on her ear and was a more comfortable, less anxious read.
Personally, it didn’t make a difference to me either way. Meyer is an author who taps into the South African psyche in a way that few have been able to replicate. He sketches a scenario that is much more believable than the far-out adventures that some local writers turn to.
South Africa is perfect ground for thriller writers. There are so many different belief systems in this country and everyone will offer a version of what they believe to be true. If you find a writer like Meyer who seems to stick to middle ground where he encounters good and bad people, it sits more comfortably and realistically for those of us who agree with his version of the world.
With Kobra, he has a nailbiting story and with all the characters becoming more familiar, it is like meeting up with old friends. In this instance, old friends are also growing older and battling with things that normal middle-aged men and women feel they have to conquer. As a former journalist who is still invited to do the odd journalistic piece, that’s how Meyer’s mind works. He probably, like all writers, also taps into his own life and what is going round.
That’s what makes him such an authentic read. It feels real and it probably is. Not that Kobra is Meyer’s life, it’s just that he knows how the world turns, is someone who listens to the conversations around him and will weave it into his crime stories to turn the characters into real people.
While his fallible hero is struggling to unravel a crime that has just too many loose ends to conquer, he is also battling with his personal life, the woman who is now the centre of his life and how with his ageing body – and psyche – he will keep her happy.
Meyer’s crime novels give you more than just a good crime story. They restore your faith in the world because the good guys are out there fighting – and sometimes they win.