In the acknowledgements, Karen Jennings writes:
'At all times I have been careful to remember that though this is a work of fiction, it is a tale nonetheless, which represents a sore reality, and I have tried my utmost to relate it in a sympathetic and sensitive manner'.
After reading the book I struggled to find words to describe how I felt about it. I've only recently been able to figure out. This was a really depressing read. Even the cover signifies the bleakness you are about to enter as you get introduced to the imaginary town of Soutbek and its people.
Set in South Africa, Soutbek is a small fishing town on the western coast,
which has been devastated by a huge fire. The upper town, which is inhabited by
the towns poorest residents, is the area that has been affected. Having lost
their homes and much of their livelihood they are left to survive off of the
charity of the richest people in Soutbek who live in the lower town. Yet, after
the fire came floods and now the town has been cut off making things even more
difficult for the upper town people who have been sleeping in damp, unhygiening
conditions and the lower town people who complain about the state of the town
now that the upper town is destroyed.
Soutbek's first ever coloured Mayor - Pieter Fortuin,
who worked to get himself out of poverty, is doing his best to get things back
on track but also bring in much needed investment to Soutbek. The Mayor
and a professor Dr. Pearson have written a book together - The History of
Soutbek drawn from the diaries of Pieter van Meerman, a vryburgher (freeman)
and seventeenth-century Dutch explorer. This book is what the Mayor is counting
on to drive tourism and bring investments into their small fishing town, which
will also help him rebuild the upper towns lost homes. There is, however,
something else lurking behind the Mayor’s act of kindness. The History of Soutbek, in turn, is the other story
that run's parallel to the fire stricken modern-day Soutbek. Set in the 17th
century, this part of the novel reads like it's fallen straight out of a
history book. We follow the adventures of Pieter, a group of Dutch explorers
and some locals they meet on the way, eventually marry and establish what is
today Soutbek. Towards the end of the book the modern and historical
accounts merge with consequences for the modern-day
inhabitants of Soutbek.
The Mayor’s story and the historical accounts, are
not the only tales in Finding Soutbek.
There is his wife, Anna, who he isolates from the rest of the inhabitants of
Soutbek in her own private beach. They also have a son, David, who is in
boarding school. She is bored, lonely
and miserable until the mayor takes in Sara, a homeless girl (not from Soutbek). With time Sara and Anna develop a bond with Sara also teaching Anna how to read as
they delve into the History of Soutbek. There is also the Mayor's nephew, Willem, who
lives in the lower part of the town.
