Blog Posts

W is for Witness

8/13/2023

Author: Karen Lazar
Publisher: Quartz Press
Review: Beryl Eichenberger
Karen Lazar is a woman of words. A woman who has survived a stroke, whose passion for English and professional literacies sees her lecturing and who has, through her previous non-fiction publications,‘Hemispheres – Inside a stroke’ and ‘Echoes’, allowed us to see inside the world of a stroke survivor, voicing the many realities of disability for those who can’t. She has opened doors with her writing in the ‘medical humanities’ genre to sharing perceptions and voices that may not be

heard. She has the talent of wordsmith but above all is able to listen.
And it is that listening that forms the core of the book. Do we listen to what is going on in our neighbourhood, do we act, do we even care as long as our own small spaces are not disrupted. Do we see the people who inhabit the edges of the community; the bergie who patiently waits with his trolley as bins are hurriedly placed on a kerb; the homeless person muttering to his God – often only to ignore them and move on.
‘W is for Witness’ is her first novel and as such it is contemporary satire laced with wit, words and wonderful narrators. This is no ordinary story and yet, it brings into focus the vagaries of our communities, the eyes turned away, the ears no longer listening.
It is social commentary brought to you by a group of narrators – who are a quirky mix of inanimate and animate objects – concerned about what appears to be a cyberstalker amongst their group of residents on one of Linden’s leafy avenues.
Imagine a Menu being able to communicate with a piece of security Wire – to pass information to a highflying, very curious Hadeda whose on the ground communicators are a brown Labrador (adorable) and a Doorway. And up there, where Hadeda can perch is Jacks (the jacaranda) – each one with their own voice and concerns. I loved the commentary and the genuine concern for their humans in this mixed neighbourhood. The humans are a very real bunch of people = with the feisty, very bright journalist Katlego, always looking for a story and her partner Ajoba, the elderly Mr Qambule and his glamourous government employee daughter Nonkululeko - a satisfying range that includes an elderly Jewish doctor, and more – subscribers to the street WhatsApp group. Read it and you’ll recognize the others who are protected by the disparate group of narrators. I was reminded of ‘Uncle Tom Cobley and all’ as I read, with the buzz and aromas from the local coffee shop enticing both narrators, residents and me into the heart of the story. While Lazar has set this in Linden it could be any ‘hood in South Africa.
Lazar has thought long and hard about this book and it shows. She has given us a cryptic story that emanates from an intertextual reference to Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer’s 1981 novel ‘July’s People’. While some references may appear irrelevant, nothing in this book is so – it all adds up to a story of our times, a commentary that could make us squirm. Your brain will engage completely with what she is saying. Not only because her use of words is so poetic and deft, weaving as they do through narrators, entering the resident’s worlds but her use of language is beautifully crafted bringing strings of words that might be reminiscent of Wordle or word quizzes – this is a learning for all of us. I felt that the book could very easily be suggested to young adults – perhaps for them to be aware of the strength of communities and how we must all contribute. If it takes a village to raise a child – well it takes a street to change an attitude…and a sharp eyed hadeda watching over.

Author

Archives

Categories