https://www.nb.co.za/en/view-book?id=9780795710803
A soft landing
Wisani Mushwana
Kwela
ISBN: 9780795710803
Donna Haraway’s philosophy of “situated knowledge” holds the key to looking at the world through one’s own eyes. Haraway challenges what she calls “the god-trick” fallacy of the view from above, long held as the objective view by Western science. It is therefore with a measure of trepidation that I, a white cis woman, embark on a review of an African queer novel. As Haraway argues, I cannot possibly read this novel from a space outside of myself. I cannot possibly hope to experience life as anyone other than myself. And yet, I am more than just a white woman; I am also a lover of the written word and a well-spun tale. Therefore, it is from these points of connection, fully mindful of the difference between us, that I picked up A soft landing by Wisani Mushwana.
At first glance, A soft landing appears to be a coming-of-age story set between two different timescapes and two different geographical locations. The novel is divided into four parts, which act as dividers between present/past, past/present and past/future.
The first part is narrated from the perspective of the protagonist, a young, queer Tsonga man, Andzani, who grew up in rural Limpopo and now lives in Cape Town. The story opens with Andzani as a young professional adult, who is dissatisfied with his work as a financial accountant and tries to counter his discontent through meaningless encounters with other gay men, whom he meets through an online dating app. All through the brief first section, the author hints at Andzani’s traumatic youth, giving just enough information to engage the reader. At this point, one does not find him either especially endearing or distasteful.
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In A soft landing, Mushwana creates a protagonist who is wholly human; his manner of speech, his mannerisms and his reaction to certain situations all paint an utterly human portrait.
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The second part of the novel is set in the rural Limpopo settlement of Mbambamencisi and tells the story of Andzani’s childhood and coming of age. By far the most powerful both in terms of theme and volume, this section is where Mushwana shows his skill as an author. It soon becomes clear that life in Limpopo is not like life in Cape Town. As the traumatic events unfold, Mushwana never overplays his hand; he keeps the reader enthralled through revelation upon revelation. Yet Mushwana never lapses into the pitfall of milking the reader for sympathy. It often happens that a writer is so focused on winning empathy for the protagonist that the character becomes a mere trope, a vehicle for tragedy. In A soft landing, Mushwana creates a protagonist who is wholly human; his manner of speech, his mannerisms and his reaction to certain situations all paint an utterly human portrait.
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A soft landing is more than a coming-of-age tale; it is a poignant study of grief in its myriad of guises. Every one of the central characters in this novel has a precarious relationship to loss.
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A soft landing is more than a coming-of-age tale; it is a poignant study of grief in its myriad of guises. Every one of the central characters in this novel has a precarious relationship to loss. Mushwana writes grief as one who has traversed its landscape. This is, above all, an honest account of how grief manifests in different situations, and on how some may become undone by it, while it holds others together. Contemporary theories on grief maintain that one does not ever recover from the loss of a loved one, nor does it necessarily become the albatross one drags through life. Rather, grief creates in a person an entirely new way of being in the world. Only in the West do the dead lose their agency once they pass over the threshold. To the rest of the world, death does not end a relationship, nor does it erase the influence of that person on those left behind, a concept Mushwana illustrates beautifully throughout this novel.
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A soft landing is more than a coming-of-age tale; it is a poignant study of grief in its myriad of guises. Every one of the central characters in this novel has a precarious relationship to loss.
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The third part of the novel introduces hope in the form of Andzani’ s boyfriend, Yolula; yet even his tale is not without loss. Here, the tone becomes tender, as the connections offered by the relationships between the characters hint at hope and restoration. Some might feel that had the novel ended here, it would have offered a sweet and satisfying ending. Yet, cunningly, Mushwana succeeds in delaying the final devastating revelations until the concluding part of the novel, aptly named “Deracination”. It seems that within the displacement of the assumptions hinted at in the preceding chapters, the threads converge and a semblance of closure is offered, though bitter-sweet. The author does not offer clichéd quick fixes; life is hard, and death does not end a relationship, whether in Limpopo or in Cape Town.
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Mushwana’s voice does falter at times; he briefly lapses into over-explanation, specifically in the third part of the novel [...]. However, this may simply be a testament to his academic roots, which shine through strongly in the characterisation of Yolula. His grasp of the human condition and his understanding of grief and its influence on the human psyche are extraordinary.
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Wisani Mushwana’s debut novel addresses disturbing themes; he does not shy away from difficult matters, nor does he force the reader to confront them. He leads us through the narrative with a clear, natural and at times melodious tone, which makes for pleasant reading. Mushwana’s voice does falter at times; he briefly lapses into over-explanation, specifically in the third part of the novel, when he introduces Yolula’s character. However, this may simply be a testament to his academic roots, which shine through strongly in the characterisation of Yolula. His grasp of the human condition and his understanding of grief and its influence on the human psyche are extraordinary. There are moments of rare beauty in his writing, which leads me to expect that his future work will be well worth looking forward to.
A soft landing is a tender, beautiful tale, heartbreaking in places, hopeful in others.
Bibliography:
Haraway, D. 1988. Situated knowledges: The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. Feminist Studies, Inc. 14(3):575–599.
Klass, D, Silverman, PR, & Nickman, SL. 1996. Continuing bonds: New understandings of grief. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
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