Love has no boundaries. It is beyond colour, caste, status, country & language. Especially,
first love is unforgettable. It has its own charm, affliction, significance & attachment & it transcends, even the passage of years of
life. This book has six Chapters, written in first person, as if written by one each of the characters of the novel, except that the first & last Chapters are both covered by the hero, viz. Danny Divin. The readers are taken on a journey, which is both vibrant & complex, that too, mostly in the apartheid era in South Africa, & then in the subsequent social scenario, in a multiracial South Africa, free of apartheid. Helga’s father is said to have landed in Durban, from czarist Russia, on Union day on 31 May 1910, looking for a brighter future. However, things were not smooth. If a black man wanted to work in Durban, he must have a pass. Black people were not treated properly. In 1948, first post war elections were held & Afrikaner Nationalists won the election. In 1966, Helga also ran for Parliament, & won the election.
Danny Divin, a seventeen year old white boy, son of Silas Divin (white person) & Helga Divin (& stepson of Arnold Miro) is in Durban, South Africa, whose neighbours are the Arbuthnots. Emily is a black domestic servant, in the kitchen of Arbuthnots. Emily has a mixed race (coppery brown), seventeen-year-old schoolgirl, by name Santi. Danny & Santi develop illicit romance. However, Ambrose the driver of Silas, spots their love, & then, this is opposed by Silas, mainly because, socially it is a criminal offence, as per Immorality Act of 1950. After finishing High school, Danny & his
friend Rupert, were drafted to serve Army in South Africa, for one year. During this period, Danny’s sister Bridget was arrested by the security police, & she was imprisoned for six months, & held in Pretoria, & upon release, she was put on a plane, out of South Africa. After the death of his father Silas in 1977, circumstances force Danny, to go to America, with the thoughts of beginning a new life. With the death of Helga’s husband Silas & her father Walter Paladin, & both Danny & Bridget gone to America, Helga was left alone, & then she decided to do
research for doctorate on King Shaka. At this stage, after the death of his wife Zelda, Arnold Miro married Helga. Helga’s
family lawyer Nerpelow discusses the matter of taking Helga’s family assets, out of South Africa to USA. Arnold & Helga gift a house & some amount every month to Baptie, who has been looking after the Helga & Silas family, for a very long time. In USA, by chance, Danny meets a trusting artist girl, by name Tesseba, in a bus in a cold winter in Boston in 1978. She has a fancy for Danny, & she volunteers to marry him, primarily with a view to save him from deportation out of USA. However, Danny does not tell her that, he was in love with another girl earlier, & will continue to love her. They live together for 20 years. However, the attraction of the first flame, viz. Santi is too much, & therefore, Danny returns to the democratic South Africa, where now the majority rules, in place of the white minority dominating earlier. Though his intention of coming to South Africa, may be saving fortune of the family, but his basic intention appears to be, that of finding out his first love, whom he could not forget all these years. After lot of efforts, Danny is finally able to locate & meet Santi, but in the long period elapsed, she has borne two sons Albert & Winnie, & is working at a job. Their efforts to unite now do not bear fruits. Also, earlier in a discussion with Robert Osten, Danny’s friend, about the purpose of Danny’s visit to South Africa, Tesseba comes to know that, Danny wants to locatehis first flame. This creates misunderstanding between them, & she leaves him. However, when finally Danny leaves by flight back to USA, & arrives there, he finds Tesseba waiting for him. On seeing Danny, her face is transformed into one of happiness, & there is happy ending, with both yearning for each other.
The novel touches human sentiments. There is semblance of tension & suspense, never-say-die attitude in the battle of cultures, some unexpected events, hope in the new
environment, & fear of deportation etc. It fathoms the strength of love of young persons, the unforgettable first love, their ambitions, love for the motherland &
loyalty for the master. All the characters are lively & graceful. The people have had a hoary past in South Africa, but in Nelson Mandela’s new South Africa, they have hopes. At some places in the text, words of South African language have been used, without their English translation. Considering an overall view, it gives a gripping account, in an interesting manner, of all anecdotes & events, the way they happened. This abstract writer sat through the book, deeply engrossed in it. For the young & others alike, it is worth giving a reading through.
More reviews about the EMPIRE SETTINGS