‘Not to Mention’ is an intriguing story set in Port Alfred
The story, set in Port Alfred, revolves around the life of 20year-old Katy Ferreira who is bedridden since she weighs 350kg, unable to walk or enjoy life as any other girl of her age.
Katy goes back in time in diary form, recalling a number of incidents that happened when she was younger, including the death — or was it murder? — of her father when she was just six.
Katy has a love-hate relationship with her mother, who has to clean her every day. She leaves food for Katy when she goes to work at a supermarket.
And Katy has a huge appetite for the wrong kind of food and drink — biscuits, pies and doughnuts as well as fizzy drinks. As a bright girl, over time Katy develops into a true cruciverbalist (a lover of crossword puzzles), and does a crossword in The Herald, the newspaper she reads, every day.
She sends messages to her mother containing clues her mother must solve to complete a giant crossword puzzle. Mixed in with the clues are Katy’s thoughts as she recollects the good and the bad things that happened during her life.
Katy is in dire need of insulin but her mother tells her none is available in the town. It is a scary story, rather graphic at times, and then sad, yet with a fair supply of humour. Throughout, the reader empathises with Katy and her plight.
You will have to finish the book to find out what happens next in the story.
I enjoyed the book and can recommend it, particularly for those with connections to the Eastern Cape and who are familiar with Port Alfred and the Kowie region.
This is De Klerk’s first novel and it is brilliantly written.
Hopefully there is more in the pipeline from this talented professor emeritus of linguistics at Rhodes University, where she is dean of students. In 2019 she received the Kraak Writing Grant.