The last time I saw Henrietta Rose-Innes we were both in primary school and she had thick long black plaits down to her waist. She was already a good writer – I for one was jealous of her talent even then! So it was with interest that I went along to her talk at my local library and I was not disappointed – it was a fascinating morning.
Rose-Innes offered a very personal glimpse into her own childhood and how it has affected her writing, specifically her choice of themes, over the years. She spent many hours in both the Wynberg and City libraries; because of her sheltered childhood these were two of the few places she was able to encounter the public, and life outside her home. Libraries and associated public buildings became, for her, places of safety, freedom and adventure and much of her writings reference these experiences including one from which she read an excerpt – The Unknown Soldier which is published in Homing, a collection of all Rose-Innes’ short stories.
Nineveh links in to this with its motif of our relationship with the built environment. The story is about a humane pest remover who takes a job in a housing estate to eradicate a mysterious pestilence. The background theme is of the changing urban landscape and the anxiety created by the unpredictability of these changes, with acceptance being the ultimate way of dealing with the discomfort.
Rose-Innes read 2 short, beautifully crafted excerpts from Nineveh and also answered questions about her experiences as a writer. She told of winning the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2008 and how that, together with earlier success in a Cosmopolitan short story competition, affected her journey with the written and published word.
Personally I love Henrietta Rose-Innes’ clean, precise style of writing, and her introverted characters. I enjoyed her earlier book The Rock Alphabet enormously. I can’t wait to start reading Nineveh, while Homing is already on my wish-list for Christmas.
Buy Nineveh
- Buy here or on Kindle.
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Visit www.henriettarose-innes.com for more info on the author and all her books, plus reviews.
1 Response to Henrietta Rose-Innes on Libraries and Pests
Very accurate and wellwritten feedback on this morning''s talk, Joy. I have never read any of Rose-Innes'' work, but will definitely get hold of one of her books now. Thank you again for taking me along.
By Emmie (3 years ago)