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WHERE THE DEVIL TURNS

Pretorius, Michelle Louisa
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9939-1774
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1540315346461346

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, English (Arts and Sciences).
The dissertation is comprised of two sections—a critical essay titled “Crime Fiction as Political Novel in Postcolonial and Transnational Literature” and a book manuscript titled Where the Devil Turns. In “Crime Fiction as Political Novel in Postcolonial and Transnational Literature” I argue that even though crime fiction is easily dismissed in academia due to its formulaic nature, its mass consumption and rapid response to change gives it the ability to seed new political ideas as well as highlight and expose existing issues within a society. The genre’s appropriation by postcolonial and transnational writers to examine identity, hybridity, and the failings of the state, along with providing a sense of catharsis and justice in the wake of instability experienced by both the postcolonial and transnational subject, has given it credibility as a serious form of literature. Where the Devil Turns is a crime novel set in Cape Town, South Africa, during the imminent approach of Day Zero, the day the city runs out of water. The novel uses the vehicle of crime fiction and intersecting narrative threads to illuminate the failure of the state in delivering on its revolutionary goals. Alet Berg is an ex-police officer that works in the country’s booming industry of private security. Her old partner, Johannes Mathebe, tracks her down after years of no contact to help him look for his thirteen-year-old daughter who has gone missing. A second narrative thread follows a young homeless boy, Fairchance, from 1994 until the present day on his journey of entanglement with violent crime. A third narrative mimics extracts from a work of non-fiction, written by the character Grace Bhuku, in which she writes about her interviews of and experiences with Adriaan Berg, Alet’s father and apartheid-era assassin for the state. This narrative raises the question of whether redemption is possible for the perpetrators of apartheid, and whether there is a place in the New South Africa for those who once benefitted from colonial oppression. The three narrative threads intersect to present a multi-dimensional exploration of the postcolonial condition in South Africa.
Patrick O'Keeffe (Committee Chair)
Ghirmai Negash, Dr. (Committee Member)
Eric LeMay, Dr. (Committee Member)
Gary Holcomb, Dr. (Committee Member)
205 p.
African Literature; Literature; South African Studies
south african crime fiction; postcolonial crime fiction

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pretorius, M. L. (2018). WHERE THE DEVIL TURNS [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1540315346461346

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pretorius, Michelle. WHERE THE DEVIL TURNS. 2018. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1540315346461346.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pretorius, Michelle. "WHERE THE DEVIL TURNS." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1540315346461346

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1540315346461346
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.