“The advent of a genre”: Crime fiction and the state of the nation in South Africa^*

* For the phrase “the advent of a genre” in my title, I am indebted to Jennifer Crocker’s (2013) review of Bloody Satisfied.

Abstract

This article focuses on how South African crime fiction reflects and critiques the state of the nation. It recapitulates the history of the genre under apartheid, referring particularly to Wessel Ebersohn and James McClure, before reviewing its subsequent development, which is characterized in part by a concern to embrace the social and political problems of post-apartheid society. Taking account of crime statistics, and of the ambivalence some writers feel about their writing in such a violent society, this article illustrates the genre’s engagement with issues like fear of crime, loss of faith in the police, widespread corruption, abuse of women and children, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, and the complexities of social transition. The success of the work of Angela Makholwa, Deon Meyer, Mike Nicol and Margie Orford lies in the way they reconcile the demands of good entertainment with searching social and psychological insights.

Keywords:

• South Africa
• crime fiction
• post-apartheid
• Deon Meyer
• Mike Nicol
• Margie Orford

Notes

* For the phrase “the advent of a genre” in my title, I am indebted to Jennifer Crocker’s (2013) review of Bloody Satisfied.

1. Remarks by Karina Szczurek and Mike Nicol at the Regensburg conference on “Writing the ‘Rainbow Nation’? Examining 20 Years of Post-Apartheid Literature” in April 2014 are taken from my notes.

2. See note 1.

3. See note 1.

4. Figures from the South African Police Services (SAPS) as reported in FACTSHEET: South Africa’s Official Crime Statistics for 2013/14, researched by the Institute for Security Studies and Africa Check. See http://africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-south-africas-official-crime-statistics-for-201314/ and http://www.saps.gov.za/resource_centre/publications/statistics/crimestats/2014/crime_stats.php.

5. See Water Music (Orford 2013b, 166–167, 181).

6. See note 1.

7. Documentation of such “black widow” crimes, named after black widow spiders which are known to kill their mates after copulation, may be found in the South African press. See, for example, Chelemu (2011, n.p.).