‘15% of true crime too weird to be credible’
Award-winning Cape Town author Deon Meyer’s work could soon play out on the silver screen. We asked him:
As a crime writer, many would assume that Cape Town provides you with an over-supply of source material
And they would be wrong. Sadly, some 85 percent of real-world (Cape) crime is domestic in nature, drug or alcohol-related, and very depressing. However, that’s the situation with all crime, in any country. The other 15 percent is just too weird to be credible fiction, so I have to make all the s*** up.
Many of your recent books are largely set in Cape Town. Does walking the same streets and dark alleys that your heroes and villains tread make the story constructions easier?
The great thing about visiting (and photographing) the places, is that it gives one more creative options for story development. And it helps a lot with description, while I can later use the photos on the website to give international readers an idea of the book’s setting.
What’s your view on crime in Cape Town? Is it “out of control”, or “contained”?
Cape crime is as contained as that of Washington DC, San Fran- cisco or London. For instance, statistics show that tourists in Cape Town have the same chance of being a victim of a serious crime as the inhabitants of Wales…
Do you believe most Capetonians have any real idea of the extent of organised crime, in particular, in their city?
Probably not. But then, the inhabitants of Rotterdam in the Netherlands or Bari in Italy don’t have a clue either.
Your latest book, Trackers, deals in part with rhino poaching. Is this containable? If so, how?
I am absolutely no expert at con- taining poaching, or any other crime (remember, I’m making the s*** up). But my best guess would be that it would take a huge effort from local authorities and the governments of China and Vietnam to really make a difference. So, the answer is “no”.
Your books deal a lot with alcohol abuse. Are our police particularly vulnerable to this illness?
Not only our police, but anybody in law enforcement, or the military. It is closely linked to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Writing a lot about society’s dark underbelly can leave one a cynic. Are you one?
Not at all. I think what saves me from cynicism is the fact that I do so much travelling and have come to realise that we (like people everywhere) are extremely myopic about our country and our city. None of our problems is unique, or more serious, than so many other places in the world. The New Jersey roads have more potholes, Los Angeles has more power failures, Rome has more corruption…
Many of your novels have had their film rights snapped up. A blockbuster shot in Cape Town would further glamorise nicely.
I can only hope. It certainly is the most “filmic” city in the world.
The latest James Bond novel, Carte Blanche, was set in Cape Town. Did you find it any good?
Haven’t read it yet. It is at the bottom of a reading pile of 50 books.
What do you enjoy most about living in Cape Town?
Bizerca Bistro. Who killed Yuri the Russian? I’ve heard so many rumours, allegedly implicating anybody from Cape Flats drug gangs, the Ukrainian mafia, a multimillionaire businessman, Ulianitski’s own business partner to Cyril Beeka. My bet: a Cape Flats drug lord.