An Enemy of the People

In this deft work of literary fiction, we follow taxman Mackanjee as he navigates the revelation of grand-scale theft. There is a sense of disconnect as he moves between the intimacy of family life and the surreal insanity of the barely disguised political context. These are the Zuma years, and the time of the whistle-blowing that revealed the extent of state capture. Themes of loyalty are central: loyalty to self, to the party, to family, to the people. The positionality of Mackanjee, as a South African of Indian descent, raises questions of belonging. Don’t expect the pacing of a political thriller. What you’ll get instead is a precisely written analysis of morality, thematically layered, with a rich array of characters and a real sense of place.