‘7 Days’, published in 2011, is the third book by
Deon Meyer in which detective Benny Griessel is the lead character. The other
two are Thirteen Hours (2009) and Devil's Peak (2004) – although Benny had made a
first cameo appearance in Dead Before Dying (1996). The base character was
created very quickly by Meyer as Benny was not a main protagonist in ‘Dead
Before Dying’ – and this very possibly explains the cliché of yet another alcoholic
detective in the mould of those who have been so popular with crime writers
over recent literary history (perhaps Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole is the best known
current example…).
‘7 Days’ is a very well written fast moving
detective thriller. Good characters, good characterisation, and a great plot. Deon
writes in Afrikaans, and the book is excellently translated into English by
K.L. Seegers - though it would have been good to have advance notice of the
Glossary at the very end of the book…might have saved some guessing :). The
literary quality is clear to see – perhaps a little simpler in construct that
some of Meyer’s earlier novels, but that does not detract at all from the read.
It is a page turner, but it is a literary page turner. The story has twists,
turns, and false leads – just as you would expect. It is, as with all Meyer’s
books, extremely well and thoroughly researched – and you can, for example,
easily appreciate the respect he has for the elite HAWKS detectives with whom
he spent time in Cape Town before he started to write the book – his appreciation
of their dedication and professionalism comes through very clearly. Meyer, too,
very precisely researches locations in which to set his characters – Hanneke’s
apartment and van Eeden’s mansion are based on real properties in Cape Town.
The geographical setting of ‘7 Days’ in South Africa
is not a key factor in developing the storyline – although, for me, the comment
that the completion of the NI highway had not been a priority once the World
Cup was over (a criticism made of more than one delayed infrastructure
project…) – and the passing reference to the Radisson Blu in Sandton - both
rang true. I have driven down the first – and visited the second – quite
recently.
But the post-apartheid reality of South African
business and politics is very
certainly a key part of the storyline. Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) drives
the plot of ‘7Days’…The BEE Act was brought in during 2003 to speed the move in
South Africa to greater black representation in what had been (and still is) a predominantly
white business society. By general consent, BEE has worked – up to a point. But
it has also imposed an enormous administrative and logistic burden on small
business – quite often it is hard to hire the best person for a position if
that person is not black. BEE has
also made a significant number of people, such as van Eeden in the book,
seriously rich. The deals to set up major BEE compliant enterprises are
extremely complex (and, again, extremely well researched by Meyer). The fixers,
the merchant banks, the lawyers, and the advisors all make money – often to the
tune of millions of rand. As do the number of elite black businessmen who
‘front’ some of the purchasing organisations (in the book there are those with
ANC, Communist, and Trade Union backgrounds – this is not unusual). Greed often
finds ways round both the letter and spirit of commercial law. South Africa has
developed a new business and political elite who have great wealth. But that
wealth does not filter down either to the general black population or to the
increasingly unemployed and rejected Afrikaans’ working class. I am sure that
is what Meyer was hoping to communicate to an audience both in South Africa and
beyond.
All in all ‘7 Days’ is an excellent and thought
provoking book. An exciting and well told story line – and also an eye-opener
for anyone whose view of the new South Africa is limited to Cape wines, safaris
in the Kruger National Park, or lazing on the beaches of the Eastern Cape. Apartheid
may be long since dead – but it has not been replaced by nirvana.
If you want to read more books set in and evocative of Cape Town, then click here
If you want to read more books set in and evocative of Cape Town, then click here
Tony and the TripFiction Team
