Is There Joy in Utter Destitution?

Musings on the Life and Times of Michael K.

When I was thirteen, we moved out to a smallholding on the outskirts of Johannesburg. We still refer to it as “The Farm”, but only about a third of the land was arable, the rest was slate, covered with a thin crust of dust and scrub. There was a borehole and an orchard, a vegetable patch, chickens, three horses, two donkeys, a cow, and two pigs. There was also a family of nine – Wilson and Rebecca M. and their seven children – living in two small rooms behind the three garages that sheltered our Japanese sedans from the harsh African sun. (more…)

53 minutes and 49 seconds

That was how long it took me to carry 97 kilos over a distance of 10 kilometres today. My legs and smoke-addled lungs – thrashed by my 30-40-a-day habit – survived the ordeal pretty well, but my ego is in a state of utter disarray. Why? Because I was overtaken by girls, (more…)