By Steuart Pennington
I was sent this book by a friend I was at school with. I rather wondered what he could write about, growing up in middle class Durban, going to an eminent private school, being a bit of a rebel, going to the army, finding work overseas, like how different could his life have been from mine? But the title intrigued me ‘LUCKY BASTARD’ so I started reading. Well, I could not put it down. Initially I thought the title of this review should be something like ‘Dealing with the Unexpected’, but I thought that would be an injustice, not giving Anthony’s extraordinary memoir the grace it deserves, so I chose “Confronting the Unimaginable”.
Like finding out, at age 10, in a rather random way, that you and your sister were adopted. Like wondering for 40 years who your biological parents were, a Point Road prostitute and a drunken sailor maybe? Like being precluded by law, from finding out? Like going against your will to a theatrical production at the Howard College Theatre on the Durban University campus and realizing that, completely unprepared, this was your life’s calling? Like hating your teenage life because you felt literally like a bastard – indentityless? Like finding out that your biological mother, falling pregnant at 20, was sent in disgrace from Cape Town to a ‘Homestead’ in Durban for six months solitary confinement to have her baby – by your biological father’s parents? Like meeting your biological mother after 40 years of separation, only have a five year ‘break-up’? Like being banned by the Apartheid authorities ‘from the top’ from returning to South Africa after opening performance of your first play Somewhere on the Border- without explanation? Like learning that your first serious girlfriend was, in fact, married? Like, after initial contact with your biological father, being shunned by him for 20 years?
For me Anthony’s story is more than a memoir; it’s a reminder how tough life can be; about chronicling the importance of not giving up; of portraying how important self-belief is; of describing the role of grit and resilience in making your own way; of emphasizing the importance of love in the face of disappointment; of recounting the critical role of standing in another person’s shoes; of confronting the unimaginable and standing tall.
LUCKY BASTARD is a truly compelling read, made possible by Anthony’s engaging writing style, poignancy, passion and humour.
Inscribed copies can be ordered directly from the author:
Anthony Akerman anthony@akerman.co.za
ISBN 978-079614915-2
Soon the be available in Exclusive Books, Amazon and Takealot
Confronting the Unimaginable- Anthony Akerman
