The Tortoise Cried its Only Tear

Title: The Tortoise Cried its Only Tear
Author: ​Carol Campbell
Reviewer: Gail Gilbride
It’s a dark night in the Karoo, and a bloodied young woman is running along a deserted dust road. Siena is determined to reach Seekoegat Primary School, her only safe haven. It’s a three-day ride on a donkey cart and she only has her legs to carry her now.
   Siena's people are dispossessed karretjiemense, travelling by donkey cart and searching for small jobs in order to survive another day. Her wild childhood is shared with the even more neglected Boetie and they become inseparable, until a dramatic incident enrages the farmer’s wife and their lives are changed forever. Siena is packed off to Seekoegat Primary school as a boarder. There, she befriends children of a similar background and takes to her lessons like a true scholar.
    Kriekie, the boy with deformed hands and the son of a sex worker, becomes besotted with the kind new girl, Siena, who takes him under her wing. Sometimes, Siena even dares to dream of a future, which would open up a new world…
    The two boys and Siena, meet up again as adults and their shared history results in an unexpected twist.
   Once again, Carol Campbell has created a highly sensitive story of marginalised people. She takes us right into their lives and offers us insight into a world we are mostly unaware of. In doing so, Campbell affords the karretjiemense dignity and respect.
   The tortoise, an animal that embodies ancient wisdom and which cries only one tear when it dies, is central to this poignant story and an icon in the stark landscape that Siena’s people embrace as their home.
 
Reviewer: Gail Gilbride
 Author of Under the African Sun

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