Golden oldies having a riot

BLOOMER Anne Schlebusch Modjaji

Review: Beryl Eichenberger

BLOOMIN’ marvellous! I simply loved this book, laughing out loud, wiping away a tear or two but generally rolling along with the adventures of the five not-to-be-silenced friends who are led by the feisty Maggie.

This is a story that will resonate with all ages but it is focused on a group of Boomer residents of the HazyView Mansions, a retirement home in Cape Town.

It’s the early stages of the pandemic and these oldies are locked down but definitely not taking it lying down!

There has been much in the news of elder abuse, loneliness, neglect and generally not respecting the value of those very people who have given life to you, but this is a story that pulses with life.

Lives that have their ups and downs but are up for an adventure – or two – or three, which in my experience, as a Boomer myself, is evident in many of my contemporaries.

To place it in context, the Baby Boomer generation was born between 1946 and 1964 – a generation that has moved through many changes in the decades following World War ll.

In my opinion, but then I am biased, decades that have been exhilarating, terrifying, embracing, technically challenging but hugely exciting.

I could not resist googling (where were you when I was studying?) boomer characteristics and Anne presents all of them within the story. Resourceful, independent, competitive, goal oriented – they have it all!

In both hilarious and serious situations we follow the Invictus group of Maggie, Corinne, Adolphus, Philip and Nobantu as they revolutionise the expected behaviour of those living in an old age home.

Each of the characters are well fleshed out and present familiar contemporaries. That many of them were defined by their professional accomplishments is evident as they rediscover their strengths and play to them.

For artist Maggie, a return to that milieu was inevitable, but it is how she gets there that is enchanting.

An old journal re-opens some doors for her, a reminder that she is still the person she was, even with a few aches and pains. Her internal musings are as funny as some of the situations she finds herself in.

Throw in some romance – past lovers reappear in very different circumstances – and Schlebusch underlines the value of relationships, past, present and future.

There are epiphanies to be negotiated, there is life still to be lived and not a moment to be wasted.

Schlebusch is an active 70 and while this is her debut novel, she is no stranger to writing, having produced Young Adult novels as well as educational and curriculum-based publications.

She has a keen eye and an even keener pen, writing in an easy conversational style which is as engaging as the characters.

She sees her contemporaries in the technicolour that they are, and celebrates their willingness to participate and not be silent onlookers.

Which is why this story is so refreshing and perhaps why we are seeing many more stories about older folk and their passions!