Book Title: The Rights of Desire Author: André Brink Publisher: Vintage The Rights of Desire is the story of Ruben Oliver, an ageing white Afrikaans male in the fast changing post apartheid South Africa.
Ruben is a widower, and his children have emigrated.
For company, Ruben is comforted by a ghost, Antje of Bengal, until Tessa Butler comes out of the rain one night.
Ruben is captivated by Tessa.
She restores some semblance of passion in Ruben, but there is no happy ending.
Rights of Desire is a study in fortitude, resourcefulness and desire to live one's life to the fullest.
Ruben is an embodiment of all that represents admirable characters in a human being - only if he could be allowed to explore his rights of desire without impediments.
The novel captures succinctly the dreams of a man - some half dreamed and others half fulfilled.
It is a powerful mirror into heart of a country in transition.
There are at least three themes that are explored in the Rights of Desire.
The first is whether the right of desire is in itself attainable or inherently elusive.
This theme is further investigated through Ruben incessant desire to seek sexual pleasure with his tenant, Tessa Butler.
The second theme is the crises of ageing, more specifically the unfulfilled longing for longevity.
The third theme is the new South Africa with its innate problems of rebirth - affirmative action, crime, service delivery bottlenecks and the packing for Perth Syndrome of white South Africans.
Since the birth of the new South Africa (1994), approximately 440,000 white South Africans have permanently left the country.
Majority of them have found a new home in Australia.
Our main character, Ruben is in the twilight zone of his life.
After years of working as a librarian, he is forced to take early retirement.
This happens as social engineering is turned on its head by the government of the new South Africa.
Instead of job reservation act - a piece of law that reserved all good and well paying jobs for whites - there is now equity employment law.
This new legislation demands that black South Africans be given preference so that big business and state entities can resemble the race demographics of the country.
Ruben seems to have been a victim of an otherwise noble government policy - righting the wrongs of the apartheid state.
It appears to Ruben that his life is becoming redundant - until of course Tessa comes to his life.
Tessa is young, vibrant and controversial.
However, her presence (if we can call that) in Ruben's life seems to rejuvenate him.
But, it brings with it complications as Tessa's other side emerges.
At the same time Ruben appears to be falling for her charm, and wishing to score the ultimate price, to fall into her arms.
The love story diversion (between Tessa & Ruben) is a passport for the author André Brink, to take us into the whirlwind visit to the heart of problems that besets South Africa.
The book also captures the fear of, and the brutality of violent crime in South Africa.
The insecurity caused by fear of crime is compounded by the new government social engineering programmes to address apartheid social inequalities.
But, in the main it's a story that tells of resilience of one man (Ruben) who refused to internalise fear of the changing times or emigrate.
The novel, Rights of Desire takes us through the struggles of ordinary white South Africans attempting to find a place in the new dispensation.
It focuses on the changing nature of employment situations, spiralling crime levels, disintegration of families as a result of immigration.
In this scenario, the only conclusion that Brink draws is that it is tough to be white in South Africa.
It is even tougher if your moorings are adrift.
Ruben is a widower, and his children have emigrated.
For company, Ruben is comforted by a ghost, Antje of Bengal, until Tessa Butler comes out of the rain one night.
Ruben is captivated by Tessa.
She restores some semblance of passion in Ruben, but there is no happy ending.
Rights of Desire is a study in fortitude, resourcefulness and desire to live one's life to the fullest.
Ruben is an embodiment of all that represents admirable characters in a human being - only if he could be allowed to explore his rights of desire without impediments.
The novel captures succinctly the dreams of a man - some half dreamed and others half fulfilled.
It is a powerful mirror into heart of a country in transition.
There are at least three themes that are explored in the Rights of Desire.
The first is whether the right of desire is in itself attainable or inherently elusive.
This theme is further investigated through Ruben incessant desire to seek sexual pleasure with his tenant, Tessa Butler.
The second theme is the crises of ageing, more specifically the unfulfilled longing for longevity.
The third theme is the new South Africa with its innate problems of rebirth - affirmative action, crime, service delivery bottlenecks and the packing for Perth Syndrome of white South Africans.
Since the birth of the new South Africa (1994), approximately 440,000 white South Africans have permanently left the country.
Majority of them have found a new home in Australia.
Our main character, Ruben is in the twilight zone of his life.
After years of working as a librarian, he is forced to take early retirement.
This happens as social engineering is turned on its head by the government of the new South Africa.
Instead of job reservation act - a piece of law that reserved all good and well paying jobs for whites - there is now equity employment law.
This new legislation demands that black South Africans be given preference so that big business and state entities can resemble the race demographics of the country.
Ruben seems to have been a victim of an otherwise noble government policy - righting the wrongs of the apartheid state.
It appears to Ruben that his life is becoming redundant - until of course Tessa comes to his life.
Tessa is young, vibrant and controversial.
However, her presence (if we can call that) in Ruben's life seems to rejuvenate him.
But, it brings with it complications as Tessa's other side emerges.
At the same time Ruben appears to be falling for her charm, and wishing to score the ultimate price, to fall into her arms.
The love story diversion (between Tessa & Ruben) is a passport for the author André Brink, to take us into the whirlwind visit to the heart of problems that besets South Africa.
The book also captures the fear of, and the brutality of violent crime in South Africa.
The insecurity caused by fear of crime is compounded by the new government social engineering programmes to address apartheid social inequalities.
But, in the main it's a story that tells of resilience of one man (Ruben) who refused to internalise fear of the changing times or emigrate.
The novel, Rights of Desire takes us through the struggles of ordinary white South Africans attempting to find a place in the new dispensation.
It focuses on the changing nature of employment situations, spiralling crime levels, disintegration of families as a result of immigration.
In this scenario, the only conclusion that Brink draws is that it is tough to be white in South Africa.
It is even tougher if your moorings are adrift.
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