To Every Birth Its Blood

A depiction of life in a black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, by a South African poet living in London. A black journalist called Tsi narrates the first part of the novel. He's so thrown by the regular killings, brutal treatment and veiled threats on the part of the white police, and by the imprisonment of his brother Fix that he regularly drinks himself numb. The narrative then shifts to a new group: John, whose beloved young wife was shot down by the police; two composed young women, Onalenna and Dikeledi; Tuki, another ground-down journalist; and Tsi's nephew, the precocious Oupa. Slowly this crowd coalesces: by fits and starts, they join The Movement and begin to carry out acts of sabotage. The novel portrays of the way fear and uncertainty poison even the most mundane daily acts.