|
|
 |
Masterful memoir from 'moffie of the moment'
Di Caelers Cape Argus, June 10 2002. Reprinted courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
|
In a South Africa where HIV/AIDS is shrouded in secrecy, Blaise Koch's account of his own battle with the virus - and the emotional and physical struggle that goes with it - is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
But then, readers will need to take the bad with the good, because while it offers a unique insight into the mysterious virus that is killing tens of thousands of South Africans, this is no walk in the park.
I guess if anyone had to write a daily account of their life, no matter what the circumstances, it would be impossible to keep the reader riveted.
And so too with this award-winning actor's memoir, which often gets bogged down in his own emotional downswings.
I understand that it's the reality of his own brutal experience - not to be wished on any other human being - but for the reader it occasionally gets to be heavygoing.
Yet at the same time, this is a book that'll keep you completely intrigued - especially if, as I had, you've met several of the people whose lives Koch unpacks almost as mercilessly as he unpacks his own.
It will give you plenty to smile about, and leave you feeling that this is a man who in spite of almost too many knocks, is still looking ahead with hope and a sense of humour.
Koch is one of South Africa's leading stage performers, with a career spanning more than 30 years and more than 250 productions, so expect to be transported regularly to the theatre world, with all the entertainment that goes along with it.
He records his life, brilliantly written from start to finish, from his childhood with his eccentric parents in the Eastern Cape and Walvis Bay, through his time as one of the stars of the legendary Space Theatre, to his award-winning performance at Maynardville as Jacques in As You Like It.
It traces his achievements as Hamlet, his involvement in Ibsen, Shaw, Tennessee Williams, as well as contemporary local dramatists like Athol Fugard and Pieter-Dirk Uys.
But through it all there's a darkness, recorded now with hindsight as Koch is diagnosed with HIV and begins the battle of his life - with the antiretrovirals that are offering him a new shot at life, with the emotional devastation the virus wreaks, and with the financial difficulties he faces.
He weaves the stories masterfully, like the knitting metaphor of his book title - In, Around, Through & Out.
Of the knitting frenzy that surrounds the arrival of a new baby or becomes a way to pass time in old age, Koch explains: "If you think about it, even when you breathe the breath goes in, around, through the lungs and then out as you exhale. It seems to be a fundamental rite of both life and death. Even the virus credited with the 1919 flu epidemic swept in, went around, passing through its millions of hosts, before inexplicably disappearing - and I use it now as a metaphor for my cycle."
One can only wish Koch all the best. His book is a wonderful achievement during the worst of times for this actor. And as he puts it self-disparagingly, it'll at least assure him of 10 minutes of fame - "and the title of 'most famous moffie of the moment'".
In, Around, Through & Out, by Blaise Koch, published by Spearhead |
| Was this article helpful to you? |
 ?100%???? ?0%
|
|
Back
|
|
|
|
