Shirley, Goodness and Mercy: A Childhood Memoir

By Chris Van Wyk

‘Van Wyk’s strength is to look at the world as if with the innocent eyes of a child and to convey this hopeful vision to others, to recapture the resilience of childhood so that it is not lost but continues, to shape adult existence and to fortify our collective sense of self.’ – Sowetan

Shirley, Goodness & Mercy is a heart-warming, yet compellingly honest story about a young boy growing up in Newclare, Coronationville and Riverlea during the apartheid era.

Despite Van Wyk’s later becoming involved in the ‘struggle’, this is not a book about racial politics. Instead, it is a delightful account of one boy’s special relationship with the relatives, friends and neighbours who made up his community, and of the important coping role laughter and humour played during the years he spent in bleak and dusty townships.

In Shirley, Goodness & Mercy, Chris van Wyk – poet, novelist and short story writer – had created a truly remarkable work, at once both thought-provoking and vastly entertaining.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Picador Africa
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781770100213

Chris Van Wyk

Chris van Wyk was born in Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto in 1957. He was educated at Riverlea High School in Riverlea, Johannesburg where he still lives and works as a full-time writer. He writes poetry, books for children and teenagers, short stories and novels.