Vol. 3 Streets Paved with Gold
Clive Cooke
- “The
- Cradle
- of
- Mankind”
- is
- a
- dramatization
- of
- the
- recent
- finds
- of
- skeletons
- of
- a
- primate
- species
- closely
- related
- to
- “homo
- sapiens”.
- You
- might
- not
- want
- to
- meet
- these
- creatures
- wandering
- around
- your
- camp
- site
- at
- night.
“Shakespeare
- in
- the
- Suburbs”
- is
- set
- in
- an
- adult
- literacy
- center
- in
- Johannesburg
- where
- illiterates
- are
- taught
- to
- read
- and
- write.
- A
- young,
- unemployed
- man
- does
- voluntary
- work
- at
- the
- center
- while
- looking
- for
- job.
- He
- is
- given
- the
- task
- of
- helping
- a
- fully
- literate
- postman
- pass
- his
- final
- school
- English
- exam.
- And,
- horror
- or
- horrors,
- the
- set
- work
- is
- Shakespeare,
- a
- virtually
- impossible
- task
- for
- someone
- for
- whom
- English
- is
- his
- fourth
- language.
“A
- Good
- Boy”
- is
- the
- story
- of
- gangsterism
- on
- the
- Cape
- Flats.
- It
- is
- also
- the
- story
- of
- a
- mother’s
- love.
The
- two
- stories
- entitled
- “Lobola”
- are
- light
- and
- humorous.
- In
- the
- first,
- a
- peasant
- exploits
- a
- gap
- in
- church
- practice.
- He
- believes
- the
- church
- owes
- him
- lobola,
- the
- bridegroom’s
- gift
- to
- his
- future
- father-in-law,
- normally
- settled
- in
- cattle,
- when
- his
- daughters
- became
- nuns.
- In
- the
- second,
- a
- white
- man
- takes
- a
- huge
- chance
- by
- demanding
- lobola
- from
- his
- future
- son-in-law
- when
- the
- young
- man
- wishes
- to
- marry
- his
- daughter.
In
- “Lord
- of
- the
- Bush”
- a
- Scottish
- aristocrat
- visits
- South
- Africa
- in
- the
- early
- days
- of
- the
- last
- century
- and
- goes
- feral.
- His
- brother
- is
- sent
- out
- to
- find
- him.
“The
- Cuckoo’s
- Hatchling”
- is
- about
- paranoia.
- During
- the
- Apartheid
- times,
- there
- were
- parallels
- with
- the
- Stazi
- regime
- in
- East
- Germany.
- Organizations
- were
- infiltrated
- by
- spies.
- No-one
- knew
- whom
- to
- trust,
- not
- even
- members
- of
- the
- same
- family.
- Paranoia
- reigned.
“Twenty
- Cents”
- is
- a
- humorous
- recounting
- of
- the
- many
- urban
- legends
- that
- swept
- the
- country
- in
- the
- period
- leading
- up
- to
- the
- first
- democratic
- election.
“Buckingham
- Palace”
- is
- an
- ironic
- name
- given
- to
- one
- of
- the
- informal
- settlements,
- or
- squatter
- camps.
- Life
- goes
- on.
- People
- survive
- and
- Granny
- Thato
- grows
- tomatoes
- which
- she
- hopes
- to
- swap
- for
- mealies
- that
- her
- neighbor
- is
- growing.
- Her
- quiet
- life
- is,
- however,
- disturbed
- when
- she
- meets
- a
- crook
- out
- to
- defraud
- her.
“The
- White
- Lion”
- is
- a
- dramatization
- of
- the
- Shangaan
- legend.
“Dreams”
- is
- the
- story
- of
- the
- successes
- and
- failures
- of
- the
- first
- black
- doctor
- in
- the
- country.
- The
- young
- newspaper
- reporter
- who
- tracks
- the
- doctor
- down
- in
- order
- to
- write
- up
- her
- life
- story
- has
- more
- than
- a
- passing
- similarity
- with
- the
- elderly
- doctor.
“Let
- Them
- Eat
- Cake”
- was
- probably
- never
- said
- by
- Marie
- Antoinette
- at
- the
- time
- of
- the
- French
- Revolution.
- However,
- it
- seems
- appropriate
- to
- use
- it
- at
- the
- time
- of
- the
- South
- African
- Revolution.
- The
- cozy
- world
- of
- a
- group
- of
- wealthy
- socialites
- is
- disturbed
- when
- one
- of
- them
- finds
- out
- how
- the
- other
- half
- lives.
In
- “Witness”,
- a
- young
- lawyer
- has
- to
- defend
- a
- peasant
- woman
- accused
- of
- murder.
- The
- accused
- is
- uncooperative.
- The
- lawyer
- becomes
- frustrated
- and
- looks
- for
- the
- easy
- way
- out.
- However,
- she
- finds
- that
- the
- witnesses
- are
- clearly
- lying
- and
- in
- order
- to
- prevent
- a
- miscarriage
- of
- justice,
- the
- lawyer
- is
- forced
- to
- investigate
- the
- crime
- herself.
“The
- Hill”
- is
- about
- labour
- unrest
- on
- the
- mines.
“The
- Contest”
- is
- a
- humorous
- Gilbert-and-Sullivan
- style
- mix
- up
- when
- a
- young
- man
- enters
- a
- beauty
- contest
- reserved
- for
- women.
“Three
- Women”
- compares
- the
- lives
- of
- three
- generations
- of
- women
- living
- in
- the
- countryside.
- The
- granny’s
- life
- was
- bound
- by
- tradition.
- Hers
- was
- an
- arranged
- marriage.
- The
- youngest
- breaks
- with
- tradition
- to
- run
- away
- with
- her
- lover.
- The
- middle
- woman
- chooses
- a
- path
- between
- the
- two
- extremes.
In
- “Foundling”,
- a
- Xhosa
- woman
- abandons
- her
- child
- at
- a
- bus
- terminus.
- The
- boy
- is
- taken
- in
- by
- a
- kindly
- Sotho
- woman.
- But,
- acceptance
- into
- the
- new
- home
- proves
- difficult.
- In
- the
- end,
- the
- boy
- is
- abandoned
- a
- second
- time
- with
- tragic results.
