“As I drove away from the last house, a thought was whispered into my ear: nothing is ever as it seems. We, exalted mankind, sentient, flawed beyond belief, choose what we want to remember. We choose how we want that memory to be presented to us every time we go to that file, to that cabinet where it has been stored for all that passing time. We take that corpse out. And there it is – embalmed and bloodless: all its stinking, putrid entrails have been gutted out, leaving behind what we want to see, what we want that lasting memory to be. It is made up, and everything is in its right place. But somewhere, where the truth lies waiting, we know that this corpse, this version of memory, is nothing but a shadow of the real thing”.
There is no doubt that Touré’s novel will be received differently by different readers. The book seems to be arguably following in the footsteps of the recently published novels such as The Reactive and/or Penumbra, albeit they are all completely different stories set apart from each other. Like the other two books, Piggy Boy’s Blues has more “creative writing” than a strong story line. The first person narrative and third person narrative in different parts of the book have the potential to throw off some readers who are simply looking for a good old story instead of creativity. But this is not necessarily a bad thing because Piggy Boy’s Blues is not a simple story too.
Davide M, who’s the protagonist in the novel, has a lot of emotional baggage. He struggles to express his views or to even hold proper conversations with any person that he comes across, including his uncle Ndimphiwe who takes him in when he goes back to Alice from Johannesburg. When he does find his voice it is towards the end of the book. While some events are revealed unexpectedly and in a rather stunning way, some don’t get to see the daylight. And so like Davide, the reader is left to stich pieces together for themselves and speculates about what might have happened in the past.
In the book Davide himself also struggles with memory. And so this makes things a little more fascinating for the reader. Questioning the changes and unfamiliarity in his surroundings when he goes back to the Eastern Cape from Johannesburg, Davide says: “I felt betrayed by my memory. As I walked on a clear realization presented itself to me. Nothing is mine. We own nothing. Even our memories do not possess a semblance of permanence. So why waste our grief on things that have happened and will probably be remembered falsely?”
To get a better understanding of the novel we had a short interview with Touré and this is how it went:
SS: Well good afternoon to you and congratulations on your book. Tell us what Piggy Boy’s Blues is about. And the title?
NT: Hi, and thank you. The novel is about a twenty something year old guy, Davide, who leaves Johannesburg, to live with his uncle in Alice, a small town in the Eastern Cape, hoping to get some peace of mind. When he does arrive, though, he realises that his uncle is living with another man. There is an obsessive relationship that develops between Davide and this man, which leads to some tragic events. The title was chosen to symbolise some humour in tragedy.
SS: Is this an autobiographical novel in anyway? Because for me it was interesting to see some similarities between you and Davide, the main character in Piggy Boy’s Blue. You once preached against homosexuality at a church when you were still battling with your sexuality. Davide, although he seems mentally disturbed and in denial, calls himself a prophet in the book during one of his breakdowns.
NT: I’m loath to call it an autobiographical novel, because it is not. And that is the simple truth. Is the novel inspired by some events in my life? Definitely. But it is not a documentation, it is art. It’s moulded and changed to fit the story that I have in my mind. It is a composition. Actually, at some point while I was writing the novel, I made a conscious decision for some parts and traits of Davide to be completely different to me. I do, though, quite often, ask myself if I am denying the autobiographical aspect of the novel. Maybe, a little.
SS: Another startling similarity is that of complicated or unusual family relations between your own life and that of Davide. So maybe you are denying the autobiographical aspect just a little.
NT: Complicated/unusual family relations in my life? I’m not sure if I have actually ever really gotten into the nitty gritty of my family. Have I? Have I forgotten?
SS: This refers to an interview you once did where you said your father is dead to you and Davide “abandoning” his mother. Your reaction now is similar to his when aunt Popi uttered the word “abandonment”.
NT: That was about my biological father who I do not know. I think I’ve met once or twice. I don’t even know when his birthday is, and I doubt if he knows mine. What I was saying in that interview was that I literally do not know this man, so he doesn’t exist.
And there lies the difference: Davide ‘abandons’ a mother he knows and loves. He leaves because of a rift, which is caused by hurt and knowing someone intimately.
SS: Davide seems to be a disturbed young man who comes from a troubled background, sprinkled with some sexual violence along the way. And so it would seem that mental illness is inevitable in his case as a result of the molestation and the hurt you’ve mentioned above?
NT: Well, yes. Definitely. Davide has experienced awful traumas, and his slip is inevitable and understandable.
SS: When we talk about abuse around Women’s Month and 16 Days of Activism there’s always a certain group shouting on the other side “but men get abused too”. And this is always in reference to male-female relationships. In your book you have a scene of rape between two males. (And this is not to say rape does not occur between people of the same sex. We just do not talk about it). What message were you trying to communicate to the reader with this incident?
NT: It really goes back Chimamanda’s talk about the dangers of a single story. There is always another side…So
a) To show that this does happen. People don’t talk about it because there is so much shame around it. Especially in a country that is as patriarchal as ours, where a certain kind of (one might even go to say a certain caricature) masculinity is respected.
b) To open the discussion about how dreadful and painful rape is.
SS: And in the book you managed to capture exactly how dreadful and painful it is in a very different way. What can we expect from you once your book is out in stores? More books or more music? Or a bit of both?
NT: Different to whom? A bit of both, hopefully. I am working on some new music at the moment. I have ideas for another book, but I’m focusing on this one at the moment.
Touré has managed to deliver a gripping story of flawed family relations, sexuality, Christianity, rape and mental illness with the most outstanding cover. His impressive knowledge of the bible shows the kind of a dedicated reader he is as well as the kind of society he comes from. His ability to quote relevant verses for practical application in his story telling at the rights moments shows his great literary talents. Readers will definitely have a lot to say about the different aspects of his novel.
Piggy Boy’s Blues is published by Blackbird, an imprint of Jacana Media and will be available at your nearest bookstores in September 2015.
About the author
Nakhane Touré is a multimedia artist born in a small town in the Eastern Cape called Alice. He was raised predominantly in Port Elizabeth and is now based in Johannesburg. After beginning his studies in literature at The University of Witwatersand, he embarked on a music career, resulting in him releasing an album – Brave Confusion – which went on to win a South African Music Award for Best Alternative Album.
By Siyamthanda Skota
@MrSkota