Heart of Africa’s grimy underbelly
Before you begin to read the book you must understand the background it is coming from so as to appreciate it more. It is set in the time when Thabo Mbeki, better known as Nelson Mandela’s successor, was the President of South Africa. As a natural corollary, the portrayal of the characters and events is intertwined with the problems that the country was (and is) grappling with — rape, murder and AIDS. Though, at times the description looks spectacular, the UN survey for the period 1998-2000 shows that South Africa was ranked second for murder and first for assaults and rape per capita in the world, thus corroborating what looks like exaggeration.
This is Coovadia’s third book. He comes across as an accomplished storyteller who picks up the nuances of everyday life easily and portrays them extraordinarily well. The story revolves around the central character Nafisa, a doctor born to a poor family, who has arrived in life, her husband Arif, a doctor-researcher, who was an influential part of the struggle against apartheid, later considered anti-establishment and now facing a law suit. Shakeer, their son, a photographer who travels the world for his living, Estelle, Nafisa’s black maid who is beautiful but promiscuous. Govin Mackey, Arif’s protégé and a famous doctor, who carries out Arif’s kidney transplant and saves his life and Jadwat, Arif’s longtime friend who specialises in victimising widows.
The first chapter starts with the preparation of the retirement party for Arif, who has been left lurking by the newly-formed government and forced out of the University. Shakeer, who flies in from San Francisco and Nafisa arrive from the airport to discover that Arif is dead. Initially, they consider it suicide, but later realise that he has been murdered.
Interestingly, Nafisa is not liked at the hospital, where she practices and accidentally gets infected with the HIV while examining one of her patients. Shakeer finds the woman he had gone to the university with after 20 years and lusts after her. At the same time, both Shakeer and Nafisa do their own sleuthing and draw conclusions about the murderer. In the end, it is befittingly Nafisa, who finds the murderer and confronts him.
The insecurities of the time are reflected in a successful woman like Nafisa resorting to stacking money illegally outside the country for bad times. High, Low and In-Between runs at an even pace throughout. It neither slows down nor picks pace. If you are looking for a high-tension, pulsating drama this book is not for you.
Neeraj Chhibba is the author of Zero Percentile: Missed IIT Kissed Russia
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