“The advent of a genre”: Crime fiction and the state of the nation in South Africa

Abstract

This article focuses on how South African crime fiction reflects and critiques the state of the nation. It recapitulates the history of the genre under apartheid, referring particularly to Wessel Ebersohn and James McClure, before reviewing its subsequent development, which is characterized in part by a concern to embrace the social and political problems of post-apartheid society. Taking account of crime statistics, and of the ambivalence some writers feel about their writing in such a violent society, this article illustrates the genre’s engagement with issues like fear of crime, loss of faith in the police, widespread corruption, abuse of women and children, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, and the complexities of social transition. The success of the work of Angela Makholwa, Deon Meyer, Mike Nicol and Margie Orford lies in the way they reconcile the demands of good entertainment with searching social and psychological insights.