Book Review: Misery carries good lessons
Lerato Maleke | Friday August 15, 2014 11:06
The author has made The Spark Of Misery an easy read. He substantiates by saying, “I believe that it is not important what you say, but how you say it”.
Indeed he lives true to his word.
In the book, a 19-year-old young man named Bonolo Puleng is on his way to attend the funeral of his girlfriend’s mother. The time is around 10 o’clock at night and Bonolo is travelling alone.
Suddenly he hears a scream, which frightens him. Nonetheless, he bravely rushes towards the direction of the where the scream came from.
As he arrives at the scene, he discovers that it is Tlhompho, brother to his girlfriend. To his surprise Tlhompho has been stabbed with a knife.
Bonolo, without thinking, pulls the knife out of Tlhompho’s chest. Unfortunately for him, people arrive at the exact moment he is holding the knife he just pulled out from Tlhompho’s chest.
In that moment, it does not look good for Bonolo. He ends being a suspect in the stabbing and an investigation ensues. Bonolo’s life changes in the blink of an eye, and things start falling apart. His girlfriend, Mimi, denounces him.
He ends up forfeiting his university scholarship after going to prison. His friends and the rest of the community turn their backs on. Even his own mother publicly disowns him. Mimi struggles to understand why his boyfriend ‘stabbed’ her brother. Bonolo is equally haunted by being falsely accused of murder. There is only one person who can tell the truth and reveal who committed the crime and that is the hospitalised Tlhompho. However, he dies shortly after, which complicates life for Bonolo. Bonolo’s mother could not find peace of mind with her son in prison. She consults a traditional doctor to seek divine intervention for her beloved son. The case is brought before the Lobatse High Court for trial and the real killers are exposed, thanks to the competence of the defence lawyer. Bonolo wins the case and is acquitted. His friends and family are over the moon as they breathe a sigh of relief. Immediately after the victory, Bonolo and Mimi rekindle their love, much to the disapproval of their families. His happiness is however shortlived, as Mimi decides to dump Bonolo for some affluent man in Gaborone.
Bonolo is thrown into the deep end, and attempts suicide. His aunt sponsors him to study nursing. After successfully completing his studies, Bonolo and Mimi get back together as lovers again. The Spark Of Misery is a sad story, but carries good lessons. One of the lessons is that one should always be cautious in everything that they do, including when they help others.
Another lesson to young people is that travelling at night, especially alone, can be hazardous.
John Roberts was born and bred in the village of Artesia in Kgatleng District. He started his basic education in his home village where he had always quietly held on to his love for writing and drawing. Roberts admits, “Writing has always been my calling. It is just that I took so long to directly attend”.
The author attributes his creativity to inheritance from his late grandfather who was also named John Roberts (1909-2000). His grandfather, a motor mechanic, was multi-talented and was highly industrious. Again he manufactured donkey carts, which he sold to people in Artesia.
He said that when his grandfather chose to give him his name, he was prophesying that he would too be equally creative, or even surpass him.
John Roberts, The Spark of Misery (2014). Printing and Publishing Company (PPCB), 98 pages. ISBN NO. 978-999-68-0-245-4.