Dintsi pens sophomore book
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Thursday April 30, 2020 09:12
The new book is a novel focused on betrayal, pain and secrets. It is a piece of fiction inspired by real life stories. The Villescence, a studio in Gaborone, published the 174-paged sophomore print on March 27, 2020.
'We Needed Each Other – Betrayal, Pain and Secrets is set in the beautiful places I love, Serule and Gaborone. The themes that make up the plot are Gender Based Violence (GBV), gender and sexual discrimination, (social) exclusion as well as patriarchy. My characters go through what young people go through while growing up in Botswana. I wanted a book that will rile you, grip you and get you to rethink or maybe act,' she explained to MmegiOnline.
Dintsi further noted that GBV was rampant in the country saying many women living in Botswana can attest to it. She said out of 10 women in Botswana, almost all experienced some kind of unsolicited sexual advances that border on harassment at some point in life. She also stated that according to the World Population Review, Botswana was second to South Africa in rape statistics, which inspired her to address that issue through her writing.
She also noted that her favourite chapter is the last entitled Everything Out In The Open.
The main character, Tebogo, kept her secret, but it is in that chapter that she reveals her secret and we see her confronting her perpetrators for the first time. There are three main characters in the book namely Tebogo a girl born and raised in Serule who has suffered GBV at home and struggles with the secret all through her schooling until as a young adult she decides to confront her grim past.
'There is also Same, a lesbian who suffered discrimination from a young age because of her sexuality. She later gets estranged from her family to only reunite with them when her mother was on her deathbed. The third friend is Bonang, born in a royal family from Kgomokasitwa. She shares the same ideals and interests as both Tebogo and Same. Bonang is a student lawyer and a human rights activist,' she revealed.
The trio met at university and formed a formidable brigade fighting injustices, prejudices against women, girls, lesbians, gays and queers. They all have a painful past and they needed each other as support.
'Batswana are a reading nation looking at the activity around reading; book clubs, Facebook reading challenges, book seminars, reading our books is still nascent and that is common in all our arts,' Dintsi explained.
She said it was up to local authors to build interest by producing quality books and continue to market their work intensively.
However, just like everyone else in the entertainment and arts industry, Dintsi explained that the marketing and sales of her book had been affected by the current pandemic, as all bookstores are closed so it has not hit the shelves yet. She said it costs P200 per copy adding that if one wants to make an order they can do so through her Facebook page; Galaletsang Dintsi.
She said the book would be launched properly post-COVID-19. She added that the novel is also available on Amazon Kindle ($5).