Johannesburg – When you think of Fred Khumalo, you undoubtedly recall his many publications, which include nonfiction, memoirs, and short stories written mostly for the elderly.
Well, the award-winning author has recently published “Crossing The River,” his first pure young adult fiction. The narrative follows 15-year-old Nozizwe and her family as they flee from the Zimbabwean farm where they reside and work.
In a daring adventure guided by Nozizwe’s aunt, who accompanies them across the Limpopo River, the family illegally enters South Africa. A crocodile attacks Nozizwe’s older sister as she crosses the Limpopo River.
Thus begins a lengthy and perilous adventure. “Crossing The River” is a story about migration, racism, and human trafficking. It focuses on the victory of the human spirit and the generosity of strangers.
Khumalo, a finalist for the Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature 2021, documented the uprisings in Zimbabwe between 2001 and 2002 as a journalist and experienced the suffering of the Zimbabwean people during that tough time. The revolts prompted the migration to South Africa.
Nozizwe is then portrayed as a guy who avoids the violence and devastation that black Zimbabweans face. Written as an adventure story, it becomes accessible to younger readers, and adolescent readers will be thrilled to learn that they are catered to.
Nomfundo, the sister of Nozizwe, gets hurt by a crocodile as she and her family cross the Limpopo River from Zimbabwe into South Africa in the opening chapter of the novel. In this scene, Khumalo vividly depicts what occurs when one crosses a river into a new country.
Nozizwe realizes early in the novel that she must protect herself as a young woman growing up in a dangerous society. To achieve this, she disguises herself as a man named “Sizwe,” which saves her life. Immigration, xenophobia, human trafficking, and human invasion, in which living people’s organs are harvested, are recurring topics in the text.
These themes reflect the problems facing the country and Africa in general. This transforms the novel into a celebration of humanity in Africa.
Many of Khumalo’s books have been written for and about adults, addressing concerns and obstacles that they confront. “Crossing The River” is written from the perspective of immigration and xenophobia affecting young children, as they are not “adult” concerns in isolation.
Khumalo is a twelve-book novelist who has won multiple awards. His novel “Dancing the Death Drill” was awarded the National Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) Award, and his collection of short stories, “Talk of the Town,” was awarded the Nadine Gordimer Award.
He is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, a Fellow of the Academy of the Arts of the World (Cologne, Germany), a Fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, a Fellow of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study, and a PhD (Creative Writing) candidate at the University of Pretoria.
The book “Crossing The River” is available at top bookshops nationwide and online. The book is also accessible in electronic format.