The GoldDiggers , livre ebook

‘Nyathi’s book is rich in detail and never dull. There is inspiration from her characters for South Africans hoping to rise from humble beginnings to success against all odds.’
– Business Day
‘Nyathi has woven a work of fiction which is vividly authentic … in a lyrical and beautiful way.’ – Destiny magazine
‘This book gives you a much-needed glimpse into the hardships, losses, pain and unrelenting fight for survival that illegal immigrants face on a daily basis in the unwelcoming streets of Hillbrow. The GoldDiggers is tough to take, but it makes for a remarkable read and Nyathi is a writer to watch.’ – Cape Times
‘If there was ever an author who could do a book like The GoldDiggers justice, it would be none other than Sue Nyathi.’ – Drum magazine
‘Don’t let the title fool you, The GoldDiggers is not about women dating men for money. Nor is it about toiling miners. The book is a page-turning tale of struggle and triumph.’ – Sunday World



First published in 2018 by Pan Macmillan South Africa
This edition published in 2019
by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag X19
Northlands
2116
Johannesburg
South Africa
www.panmacmillan.co.za
ISBN 978-1-77010-681-9
e-ISBN 978-1-77010-682-6
© Sukoluhle Nyathi 2018, 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Bible verses quoted on each Part page are taken from the New International Version.
Editing by Jane Bowman
Proofreading by Pam Thornley and Katlego Tapala
Design and typesetting by Triple M Design, Johannesburg
Cover design by publicide
Author photograph by Shaun Gregory Photography

To Sabelo
My darling son,
You have taught me the true meaning of love


Introduction
I t has been a year since The GoldDiggers was published. The novel was received to much critical acclaim; a huge affirmation for my writing. I reckon writing your second novel is the hardest. My debut novel, The Polygamist , was well received but I was afraid I was not going to live up to expectations the second time around . When literary critics said things such as, ‘This is a literary masterpiece’ and ‘ Sue ’s writing has matured like fine wine’, I got warm and fuzzy feelings inside.
For the most part, writing is a lonely craft. Apart from the company of the characters that live in your head, in a world you have created, you tend to be cut off from the real world for long periods of time. So once the book is out there and readers are engaging with you, it really is the greatest compliment for me as a writer.
I have enjoyed talking about my book on the book club circuit and interacting with readers who are ardent fans of my work. Some readers might not have the opportunity to meet me in person or have their questions answered, so here are responses to some of the issues I have been frequently asked about when discussing The GoldDiggers .
The title is misleading
Yes, the title is a bit of a misnomer because when the word ‘ gold - diggers ’ is mentioned, the first thing that often comes to mind for some people is beautiful, young women trying to make money by milking rich men. But I think after reading the book, most readers agree this is far from the truth.
The book is predominantly set in Johannesburg, a city that grew as a result of the discovery of gold in the 19th century. ‘ Egoli ’ is synonymous with gold and finding your fortune, so it made sense to use ‘gold-diggers’ in the title.
Centuries later, it might not be gold bars that people are looking for but it is still economic wealth. As such, it seemed appropriate to call the book The GoldDigger s because most people who come to this city are in search of their fortune – wha tever that fortune might be. However, like most people in search of things, some succeed while others fail. In line with this, I pictured Johannesburg as a woman. If we think of Cape Town as the ‘mother’ then why can’t Johannesburg be the ‘daughter’? Hence the image of a woman on the cover.
My journey in writing this book started in 2013 but the idea was implanted in my head as a result of the conversations that arose around the xenophobic attacks that broke out in Alexandra in 2008. I would turn on the radio and hear vociferous callers saying, ’But why are foreigners here? Why don’t they return to their own countries?’ I felt I had a responsibility, as a foreigner myself, to answer those question s . Plus, there was no way I could express what I felt in a few minutes on a radio show or in a 280-character tweet. What better way than write a book at your leisure without interruptions?
Sadly , at the time of writing this, a spate of xenophobic attacks had erupted once again and the topic continued to dominate headlines and spark conversations. It would appear that xenophobic sentiment remains high. This is echoe d on a global scale with many countries closing their borders in an effort to try to curb inward migration. So not only is the issue relevant, it has also become a topic on the lips of many citizens and policy makers.
I finished writing The GoldDiggers in 2016 and during the process I fell pregnant and had my son, Sabelo. The drafting and planning of the book took place long before Sabelo was conceived and a large part of it was written whilst he was gestating in my belly. I remember being seven months pregnant and taking a walking tour of Hillbrow, which forms part of the setting for the book. I have walked the streets of Joburg’s inner city over the years and know it intimately, and this is reflected in my writing.
I once worked for an economic development consulting firm that was contracted by the Department of Economic Development, an arm of the City of Johannesburg, to work on a project that looked at decking the railway lines running through the inner city and building above them . In conducting a baseline assessment of what was in the city, I literally had to map the retail, residential and commercial uses of the railway in the CBD. And, y es , it was a tedious exercise that involved me walking the streets and writing everything down, but those notes later fed into my writing of The GoldDiggers .
These geographical details were important to me, so that all readers, especially those not from Johannesburg, could get a picture of this so -called Mecca of a city in southern Africa that has lured so many people to it. I enjoyed the research immensely as it gave me historical insight into a city that I was not born in but have resided in for the past ten years. I’ve always enjoyed history, even in high school, so I loved learning about the stories behind the landmarks. While a lot of the history was cut from the final novel for the sake of narrative flow, my mind is all the richer for it!
After Sabelo ’s birth in 2014, motherhood overtook my writing efforts, so the book was set aside for a while, and I eventually resumed writing in April 2015, which resulted in the second draft of the book. Coincidentally, this was at the same time I returned to full-time employment in my day job .
Why do I write?
I often introduce myself as a writer by passion and an investment analyst by profession. I write because I simply love it and because it makes me feel alive. But I have a day job because the reality is that most writers cannot make a living solely from their writing – not unless you are in the company of authors such as JK Rowling or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
I was trained as an investment analyst and have a Master’s degree in finance and i nvestment. During the day my head is buried in economic shop talk, building financial models and preoccupied with the volatility of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. And then my writing keeps me busy at night.
You’re probably wondering how a creative like me got stuck in the world of finance and i t turns out that it was actually a random decision. I always knew from a young age that I wanted to write so by the time I was eight years old, I was cutting pictures out of magazines and writing stories around them. E ven when I played, I was acting out stories. By the time I got to high school, I was writing my own books in A5 exercise books with my own cover design and blurb. Just like profesionally published books are delivered except m ine , of course , were handwritten and there was only ever one copy, which was circulated amongst my fellow students. These books soon migrated from one High School to the next and everyone got to kn ow about ‘ Sue ’s Books’ . Soon i t became like hiring a DVD for ‘one night only’ because the demand was so high. Those students treasured my books and although they became torn and tatty, none of them were ever lost or misplaced.
I probably spent more time reading and writing in high school than I did on homework, and on many occasions my mother threatened to suspend my library subscription because I preferred to be buried in a novel rather than my maths or physics textbooks! When I left high school everyone thought I would go on to study something literary. I had my heart set on journalism but the only university in Bulawayo at the time only offered science and business courses. As my parents were set on me getting a degree, I looked at what was on offer and thought finance sounded interesting. And that is how I ended up in a field that I initially did not enjoy but