The Zulu people have colourful names for their children, which often come to resemble the nature of the child, and so it was with fifteen-year-old Thulani. His name meant Be Still in Zulu and his parents often wished he were, for Thulani was a lively boy who loved telling wild tales, which bestowed on him the nickname Cloud Eater. This perfectly described the boy's dreamy nature, his stories were gossamer as the clouds themselves, yet the stories always had meaning. The Zulu paid heed to the tales of Thulani, for they kept in their memory, what once had been for all men.In Zulu culture there are strict rules on upbringing, children are taught to keep silent around the adults, yet the elders loved listening to tales of the Cloud Eater. A common sight was a group of men gathered around, while Thulani recounted his latest adventure, the boy was in fact something of a Zulu seer. Many of his fables were part of African folklore, while others will become part of folklore, the Eaters of Clouds they are called in Africa. Whimsical philosophers who are the lifeblood of African culture, because history and traditions are passed on orally in Africa.The tales of Thulani point the way to a modern South African fable at the end of the book, an allegory where animals are humanised and given employment, discover what happens if the Foxy Editor plays the music and the Government Elephants do the dancing? What will transpire if Foxes learned how to write, and controlled all animals through newspapers, under pretension of protecting animal rights. They threw out the humanitarian African philosophy of Ubuntu, and replaced it with a neoliberal system that idolized individuals, namely the individual media controller Foxes.
About the Author: Pat Stevens was born in Johannesburg in the same month as Steve Biko, December 1946 was also the month Alan Paton completed his great novel Cry, the Beloved Country, so some characters in The Greatest Game series derive from both sources. Today the author lives in England, but the river between Africa and Pat Stevens runs deep, his books are all set in Africa. The Greatest Game anthology counterpoints the lives of four characters, against four decades in a changing South Africa, culminating in the historic 1994 democratic elections. The book also details the scepticism of the Johannesburg liberal press, that almost derailed the democratic transition, unfortunately these purveyors of doubt are still around. So a follow up novel titled Hero of the Struggle, describes the complicity of the press in the eight year persecution of Jacob Zuma, and the long struggle to effect the dropping of charges against an innocent man. The hero is writer Will Powers who obtains intercepted phone calls, these so called Spy Tapes prove political interference in the case, so all charges are dropped and Jacob Zuma becomes president. A semi-autobiographical book titled White Bird Under the Sun, describes a journey through fifties Africa that will warm your heart, as it recounts the joy and travails of a boyhood in the Rhodesian bush. The story continues in seventies Johannesburg through a sequel titled Dice of Life, a coming of age novel revolving around a group of apprentices, and dealing with the complexity of a racist society. The book examines apartheid South Africa, through the eyes of protagonist Harry Cheals, counterpointing his concerns against the easy attitude of friends. The novel Zulu Vampire recounts an outbreak of killing in rural Zululand, reputed to be the work of the vampiric Impundulu Lightning Bird, so police captain Jake Smit and journalist Marlin Madison track down the real killers. Continuing the theme of African fables is Cloud Eater, traditional stories told by an African seer named Thulani, while Parables and Poems is a collection of essays with political and religious themes. Greatest Book Ever Written includes Absalom's Tomb which uses a new style of Biblical writing, where the narrative is modern romantic style but for the dialogue, the King James English is retained imparting a lovely Shakespearian veneer. There is a wide array of books for you to choose from, whatever the taste of the reader, there is sure to be a fit among the books of Pat Stevens.