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The 2007 Award

The Whale Caller by Zakes Mda


 

 

Nominated by:

  • Tshwane Library & Information Service, Pretoria, South Africa
  • City of Johannesburg Library & Information Services, Johannesburg, South Africa

 

Publisher of Nominated Edition
Penguin Books South Africa
ISBN 0143025147

 

 

the complete A-Z listing of nominated authors
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Whale Caller, in tattered tuxedo, spends his days on the cliffs of the small coastal town of Hermanus blowing his kelp horn to the whales that visit in the summer months. In particular, he blows for Sharisha, a southern right whale who always responds to his call. With each surfacing of her giant head and each thrashing of her tail, the Whale Caller's connection to Sharisha deepens. Then Saluni enters his life. Saluni - the feisty village drunk, a passionate but self-destructive woman who frequents the taverns and consorts with passing sailors. She cannot understand nor tolerate his fixation with the whales, and as the relationship between her and the Whale Caller grows, she finds herself vying with Sharisha for his attention. The tension builds to a devastating climax that has terrible and lasting consequences.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zakes Mda (full names Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda) is a South African writer, painter, composer and filmaker. He commutes between South Africa and the United States of America, working as a professor of creative writing at Ohio University, as a beekeeper in the Eastern Cape, a dramaturge at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, and a director of the Southern African Multimedia AIDS Trust in Sophiatown, Johannesburg.


 

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