If You Can Walk, You Can Dance
Paper Type: Book Print | Size: 216 x 140mm
Black and white; 484 pages; Hardback
ISBN-10: 9385285610 | ISBN-13: 978-93-85285-61-5
495
Jennie de Villiers, an idealistic and politically
engaged student, suddenly has to flee her native South Africa with a boyfriend
whom she no longer loves—only to be stranded as an exile in neighbouring
Swaziland. Fending for herself in a new culture, she discovers new ways of
living and a kind of music that moves her deeply. As the story moves between
Africa and 1970s London, the music of different cultures is woven through the
narrative. Jennie works, studies, learns music and tries to bring these various
strands together to create a fulfilling and meaningful life, as well as
discover her way forward—personally and professionally. Lyrically written, extremely
engrossing and deeply moving, If you can walk you can dance exemplifies the
thought—‘the personal is political’. Its depiction of a young woman’s life as
she travels across frontiers and cultures reaffirms the healing power of music
and the redemptive nature of human connections.
Marion Molteno
Author
Marion Molteno grew up in South Africa, and left after being in conflict
with the apartheid regime. She spent eight years in Zambia, and since then has
been based in London. She has had a long association with India and
Pakistan through her work with South Asian communities in the UK, and with Save
the Children, with whom she travelled extensively in Asia and Africa. She
studied Urdu with the eminent scholar Ralph Russell, and edits his work, most
recently The Famous Ghalib: The Sound of My Moving Pen.