Thirteen Centsis a harrowing and brutal read. It tells the story of 12-year-old (turning 13) Azure. After the death of his parents, he finds himself homeless on the streets of Cape Town. Homelessness is not the only torment Azure experiences. For survival, he often finds himself having to resort to child prostitution – having to accept whatever money he is given just so he can afford a meal, get a decent pair of shoes, or pay the local gangs for protection on the streets.
Kabelo Sello Duiker is known to be an intense writer who does not hold back in his writing and is particularly vivid in his storytelling with striking depictions of the lives of his characters. Thirteen Cents is a clear demonstration of Duiker's ability to turn words on a page into a world that feels real, visible, and alive.
Duiker's descriptions of the depravity and abuse experienced by young Azure leave the reader feeling extremely uncomfortable, unsettled and enraged. In many instances, situations like statutory rape are described in vivid detail, leaving no room for the reader to escape young Azure's agony and discomfort - which is made worse by the fact that Azure has normalised this painful life. While acknowledging his suffering and the harshness of his daily life, Azure tries as best he can to adapt and accept his new reality. In one part of the book, Azure is telling someone that he lives under a bridge, and they ask, "So, what? You live with homeless people?" to which he responds, "We have a home. It's just not your normal kind of home with a kitchen and all that stuff but it's still a home."
Many of the characters play significant roles in Azure's maturation and transformation. Vincent, another homeless man, teaches Azure the rules of the streets and does what he can to help him survive. There's Gerald, a local gangster who is feared not only by the community but by the police as well. Bafana, a boy younger than Azure who depends on Azure for food - adding additional pressure on Azure's limited ability to find money. Azure has multiple people that he trusts, but as the book progresses, many of these relationships become strained, and many characters take advantage of his vulnerability, naïveté, and innocence.
In the second half of the book, Azure seems to transcend reality, entering a state completely different from the life depicted in the first half. He sees this experience as something that has made him stronger and more capable. He starts to believe more in himself and his ability to survive.
IMPRESSIONS
Thirteen Cents is an immersive and emotional read. These emotions are intensified by the mental reminder that Azure is a child - a young boy experiencing unimaginable horrors. While the book is fictional, many young homeless people live similar lives - this makes Thirteen Cents more than just fictional storytelling; it is also educational and informative storytelling. While reading this book, I felt a lot more empathy for people living on the streets. I realised how little I knew about their struggles, about what they often need to do for survival. They might be challenging to read, but books like Thirteen Cents are essential for change. They are catalysts for growth, transformation, and building a caring and giving society.
About the reviewer
Moon Mokgoro
Moon Mokgoro studies physics and mathematics and is a writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the founder of Protest Poster Project, a non-profit organisation focused on fighting against gender based violence and building a library/archive of activist, anarchist and feminist literature. She's written for the Are.na 2023 Annual and others as well as occasionally writing on her Substack. Archiving and documenting, collecting and remembering are what Moon aspires to do in all her work.
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This review is from the Book of the Month series 2024 from the Goethe-Institut South Africa.
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Thirteen Cents - Book of the Month March
Books like Thirteen Cents are essential for social change.
They provide impetus for growth, change and the development of a caring and supportive society.
“It is all at the same time filled familiarity, warmth and danger, fear and opportunity – the myriad of contradictions that is Johannesburg, and South Africa itself.”
The AFRO-Freedom Book Club is a public book club that focuses on African writers to inspire dialogue and civic engagement in the community. We strongly believe in the voice of Africans and the importance of telling our own stories. Everyone is invited to join our circle!
Silent Book club is about meeting other like-minded readers, chatting about what other people are reading and then reading together in companionable silence.
