‘I am a South African-based, African writer’—Watch a video interview with Nthikeng Mohlele on his latest novel Illumination
More about the book!

Nthikeng Mohlele chatted to Africa’s Lit recently about his latest novel, Illumination.

Asked to introduce himself, Mohlele says: ‘I am a South African-based, African writer.’

Asked to give an elevator pitch of his new book, Mohlele says: ‘It’s about sustained consciousness, existential crisis, what makes life what it is? I thought I should write this book because there are people like me who wonder about these things … kindred spirits to whom the book will mean something.’

Mohlele said his protagonist Bantubonke faces ‘triple problems’: ‘He’s an artist, highly gifted. He’s got past traumas as a person resulting from systems of governance. When that meets with the private and personal passions that he has, it’s a cocktail for some unsettling developments in his life.’

Mohlele describes Bantubonke as a ‘fine, fine, fine specimen’. ‘He’s a very cerebral person, he’s a very spiritual person, he’s a very passionate person. He’s an artist, musician, composer, bandleader, trumpeter … but he is also a very astute person when it comes to his feelings and his relationship with the world around him.’

Watch the interview: