By Johan Vlok Louw
At an army base close to Voortrekkerhoogte in Pretoria, at the height of summer and South Africa’s Border War, 18-year-old recruits endure an appalling drill sergeant bent on turning them into killing machines for the South African Defence Force (SADF).
They are sleep deprived, and tension mounts in this group of disparate individuals – boys from all walks of life – expected to function as a unit.
A powerful anti-war manifesto
Andrew Howard-Smythe, a surfer from Durban, is the first to notice the giant Afrikaans boy Riejkardt Jurgens, whom he describes as a cross between a heavyweight wrestler and an orangutan.
After a particularly gruelling training session on a shooting range, it is Riejkardt who snaps, severely injuring three officers before he is restrained.
The investigation that follows is suspicious right from the start. It turns out that, instead of being prosecuted, Riejkardt will be recruited for a sinister military outfit when his propensity for violence is recognised. Thus, this short, hard-hitting novel tracks the making of a henchman.
Written in staccato, pointillist prose, Sons of Mud is deeply poetic and original, and a powerful anti-war manifesto.
About the author
Johan Vlok Louw was born in Cape Town to Dutch and German descendants, but he grew up in the wide swathes of the semi desert Karoo, the wine producing regions of the Olifants River valley, and the gold mining districts in central South Africa. These contrasts, severe at times in his formative years, seemed to have followed him into his working life.
He studied Fine Arts and Design and majored in painting in 1991. Followed by exhibitions, he worked as art tutor, marketing manager, and co-director of a law concern. But since 2010, forever drawn to more creative endeavours, he paints in oils, writes, and teaches these disciplines privately and online.
He has published 5 books in conjunction with Penguin Random House, and has been long listed for the Sunday Times prize for creative English Literature twice, and short listed for the University of Johannesburg prize for Creative English Literature.
- PUBLISHER | Penguin Random House SA |
- ISBN | 9781415210635 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R270.00 |
- Classification | History |
