Review of “Place” by Justin Fox
While the rest of us plan a beach or bush break or perhaps a culinary tour, Justin Fox decided to combine his passions for travel and local literature. In Place, the former editor of “Getaway” magazine, embarks on a solo quest to visit the settings of several well-known South African stories. These environments were very close to the hearts of the authors of the books and, in some cases, also evoked personal memories for Justin Fox.
He undertakes nine mini expeditions to track down the locales, farms and homesteads where the authors or their characters were said to have resided or to retrace and explore the routes they took. The works that inspire his travels are anchored in various parts of South Africa’s diverse landscape, and he wants to immerse himself in the “spirit of place” that the writers conveyed so powerfully in their stories or poems. This deep-rooted relationship that people can have with an environment is a thread throughout Fox’s book. He notes that one of the challenges of emigration is the loss of a familiar landscape with its distinctive smells, sounds, colours and connections that are locked into memory, often from childhood. Sometimes, it can be harsh terrain, but it is still an integral part of who you are.
His journeys span the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape and extend up to Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West province. His ‘travel guides’ include classics like Olive Schreiner’s Story of an African Farm (Eastern Karoo) and Jock of the Bushveld – both of which are now faint memories from my school days! Herman Charles Bosman’s Groot Marico tales and Dalene Matthee’s Knysna Forest novels also feature in his itinerary. Those who are familiar with the Wild Coast will appreciate his pilgrimage fuelled by Zakes Mda’s Heart of Redness.
The years have wrought inevitable change, and at times, Fox is dismayed by signs of disrepair or the impact of development and greedy agendas. But at each destination, his chosen book gives him a channel into the sense of place that its author experienced.
A copy of Place by Justin Fox can be borrowed from our Chartered Client Library.