’Joburg Noir’ reflects on relationships with the City of Gold
AFTER reading Joburg Noir, a collection of stories published by Jacana Media and edited by Niq Mhlongo, I have to agree with the description that it is “a book concocted out of memories, urban legends, jokes, myths, dreams, brief encounters, experiences, love and loss”.
The book was also part of a literature diet which kept one sane whenever the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic-induced fatigue was creeping in, and it took me back to when I was growing up in Mohlonong village, Ga-Mashashane, in the Limpopo province.
Migrant workers or “makarapa” and others who had touched the Johannesburg soil would share their experiences of the megacity. Even before I undertook my first visit to eGoli, I had heard names of places including George Goch, Fordsburg, Park Station, Marshalltown, Modderfontein,
