NAPE 'a Motana is no doubt a prodigious storyteller.

In his latest book, Son-in-law of the Boere, he portrays the love story of two young teachers employed shortly after the end of apartheid by HF Verwoerd High School in Pretoria.

Kgoroto "KK" Mashobohleng is a Pedi man from the village of Mahwibitjwane, near Polokwane, Limpopo, while Katryn van der Merwe is an Afrikaner woman from the city of Pretoria.

The star-crossed lovers face opposition from their families, friends, neighbours and colleagues as it becomes obvious that their relationship is more than a fling.

While the intriguing plot is what captures the reader from the start, it becomes difficult to believe in the plausibility of the characters. They lack complexity.

This leaves you feeling like they are designed as agents to propel the plot forward and unmask the themes, including interracial relationships, post-apartheid society and its intricacies, vegetarianism and the conflict between tradition and modernity - rather than being real, rounded and having depth.

For instance, the speed with which the main characters graduate from attraction to love is so swift that it makes you feel doubtful about their professed love for each other.

After a few meetings between the two, Katryn - having convinced KK to teach her Pedi as a ploy to spend time with him, in the hope that a relationship will come from these lessons - the following encounter is narrated: "KK flashed a smile at [Katryn], which left her feeling weak at the knees. 'I think he loves me,' she thought. 'I've cornered him and I'm not going to let him out!'

At this stage, they aren't even dating, as KK is still struggling to disentangle himself from a relationship back home with the buxom, light-complexioned Mma-Gauta, with whom he had been involved for years.

Most of the villagers, including his whole family, seem to believe breaking up with Mma-Gauta for a "city harlot" will bring the gods' wrath down on him.

Nonetheless, Katryn and KK do become an item soon enough. And, the warnings from KK's family about the gods' wrath seem to materialise.

I enjoyed the poetry in the book - most of it being translated from Pedi, which may mean it loses some of its soul, but it is nonetheless beautiful, and that is what arguably sets this book apart. The narration is also rich in proverbs.

But cliché is one thing the book does not have a shortage of - from Katryn's constant shouts of "Einaah!", when expressing pain or joy, to the lovers making the same sounds, or exclamations, when dropping books on the floor as they unexpectedly bump into each other.

Nevertheless, Son-in-law of the Boere is a valuable addition to the collection of South African literature from the author of the popular Fanie Fourie's Lobola, as well as a long list of poems, and a collection of plays.

ndabezithat@sowetan.co.za

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