by Andrew Salomon
“Many South Africans believe they’re evil gremlins or pests that need to be exterminated…”
Such is the case for many when it comes to the tokoloshe, the mystical creature famed for its night-time escapades in people’s homes, and bedrooms in particular. In Tokoloshe Song, Andrew Salomon paints a picture in which such beliefs are turned on their heads.
Richard Nevis, ex-lawyer turned boat-restorer, volunteers his time at a shelter for abused tokoloshes – something of an underground operation, due to the prejudices of general society.
Unexpectedly he is summoned to a meeting in which he is instructed to perform a task that will endanger the lives of many. Two monsters – one beast, one human – are in a fierce race to gain access to the contents of a sealed box, which can only be opened by the touch of a tokoloshe. Richard is called upon to coax the tokoloshe, Lun, the most recent resident at the shelter, to place his hand on the mysterious box.
Thereafter follows a roller-coaster ride of miraculous escapes, untimely demises – and love. It is an old-fashioned case of goodies versus baddies. The villains are truly villainous, and it is hard to tell which is the worst.
Kras is human (well, maybe…), with a nasty sidekick and a giant arthropod named Arthur, who has a taste for human flesh.
His nemesis is the equally villainous Mamron, a creature with talons served by a pair of beautiful, tongueless twins.
Thrown into the mix here (and there are other characters): Toby, who is chosen by Kras to steal information needed to open the mysterious box; Emily and Sindiwe, otherwise known as “the Pitbull Midwives”; and Doorway, a man of many motives.
Together they traipse across the Karoo, pursuing stories that may be fact or fiction – some in an attempt to gain access to the box, some in an attempt to save the tokoloshes who would be sacrificed in the process.
Tokoloshe Song is a novel that grows on the reader as the story progresses. It is highly entertaining, but it takes some perseverance to get to grips with the sheer number of plot lines and characters. The beginning, especially, is messy, with the story jumping from place to place. No apparent connection appears for quite some time.
The blurb states that it is author Andrew Salomon’s first novel for adults. This does it a disservice as one might anticipate maturely-constructed narrative – when
adults with an awake inner child, will be right at home.