Call it Dog

by Marli Roode

Jo returns to South Africa after ten years in the UK to cover the riots sweeping the Jo'burg township of Alex. Nico, her estranged Afrikaner father, reappears and asks her to help prove his innocence in the murder of a black man, abducted by the security forces decades earlier. As they set off on a road trip through South Africa's now-unfamiliar landscape, it becomes clear that Nico knows more about the murder than he is letting on, and Jo begins to wonder whether she is his accomplice, or his captive.

Set against the backdrop of a country struggling to absorb its bloody history and forge a new democracy, Call It Dog asks whether justice and truth are more important than the bonds of loyalty and love, and explores what is it like to feel you no longer belong in the land of your birth - or to your own family.

337 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

Reviews

[Lesley Moorhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me uncomfortable-yes it is fiction but the xenophobic attacks on foreigners in SA is so fresh in my mind and she reminded me of the images shared on the news at the time. The historical abuses perpetrated during apartheid too, although fictionalised here brought back the atrocities revealed by the TRC. I loved the book and hated all she captured so well that is intrinsically South African.

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really hard to follow and somewhat graphic descriptions of torture but I stayed until the end so not awful. 77 percent.

[TL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow pace but I found the characters interesting and their relationship very different. That kept me reading. About three quarters way through though I really struggled to keep going with it.

[Hannah Jenkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, couldn’t get into it

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marli Roode is a 29 year old South African writer who has lived in the UK since she was 17. She studied writing in Manchester and ‘Call It Dog’ is her first – and very impressive – novel.

The heroine of the story, Jo, has a similar background to Marli (but I hope the story is in no way autobiographical – I wouldn’t wish Jo’s father, Nico, upon anyone…). She returns to South Africa, as a journalist, after 10 years in the UK to cover the Alex race riots. She is contacted by her father and they set off on a road trip across South Africa – ostensibly because he needs her help to clear himself of a charge that he murdered a black man 25 years before. The relationship between the two of them is tense, dysfunctional and complicated – leaving us wondering whether Jo is, in fact, his captive or willing accomplice on the trip. He confiscates her mobile phone, drugs her with sleeping pills, and is generally a vicious – but fascinating – character. She ‘sort of’ goes along with this – there are certainly times when she could have escaped. The descriptions of the South African countryside they drive through are truly impressive and well written – and draw the reader into the story. We feel the heat and the oppression…

In parallel Jo is having an intense affair with Paul, whom she met at Jo’burg airport on her arrival in the country – and with whom she went into Alex to cover the riots. Their meeting was a ‘chance’ one, but as the story progresses – and after Jo has finally split with her father – the truth about Paul then emerges… and his position in the plot becomes clearer.

The plot of ‘Call It Dog’ is not its strongest point. Bits of the book seem to ramble – but this does not in any way detract from the setting – both geographical and in a country seeking to resolve its bloody history and establish a new democracy. The ‘Rainbow’ nation may well be an idealist view of what is actually the case – and Marli brings this out quite brilliantly. Her writing is remarkably mature and insightful for someone of her age. No doubt that she is a real talent, and we are pleased to be able to report that her second book is in creation.

[John Mountford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't patronize Marli by saying that this was a good first novel. If I hadn't known she was a new author, I wouldn't have guessed it at any stage.
Her use of descriptive detail is unique. The reader is treated to a kaleidoscope of unexpected insights and observations along the way; and herein lies my first criticism: the ratio of detail to action was too high: I prefer my action a little less diluted by observation.
She is able to hook the reader from the start, and manages to maintain the suspense as you wonder what lies at the end of the bizarre journey across the country with her father. Don't expect anything too explosive, but do expect a finely tuned emotional climax.
'Call it Dog' offers a unique reading experience in the world of cross-genre fiction: not quite suspense; almost literary. You will enjoy it - how much is the only variable. As a South African myself, and being intimately acquainted with the subject matter of the novel, the novel probably lost a star for me due to familiarity. For those readers who know little of the murky dealings of the South African apartheid era covert hit squads, this will be fascinating reading.
Marli will be back - and even better the next time. Watch out for her.

[Denni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes fiction really opens your eyes to things that happen in the real world that were kept less apparent. Like Marlon James' Brief History of Seven Killings, this novel has told me about events I'd not been aware of at the time, though its main focus is on a father-daughter relationship within some horrifying and traumatic times in post-apartheid South Africa. It's not just the total barbarity of undercover white military units, but some of the nightmare xenophobia reflected back to me the rise of these attitudes here in the UK (and across Europe) as well as the stories we are never told these days about what is happening in Libya. I don't like to give plot details in these reviews, so all I'll say is that this is well worth reading (you won't need to be as strong as for reading James' Brief History, but you will need to be pretty tough!), and as a first novel, it's pretty damn good.

[Nathan Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was captivated by this from the start. The plot continually verges on being over the top and the motivations of the characters unbelievable and yet the sheer power of the writing and the narrative manage to make it work. The backdrop of the modern South Africa still living with its legacy of the apartheid years was also fresh despite this being so well written about elsewhere. I am looking forward to seeing more from someone who could become a great author.

[!Tæmbuŝu]

KOBOBOOKS

Reviewed by The Guardian (28 Aug 2013)

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niccolo Ammaniti you'd better watch out.

[Claudia Cavanagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a minutely observed beautifully crafted novel and I'm really surprised to have not heard of it before. It is a spine chillingly real, totally believable well told story, perfectly formed from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down and found myself switching on the light at 3am to read further. Certainly my current favourite modern South African novel. Not an easy read - terrifying and dreadful in equal measures. Made me remember and got me thinking. Growing up in South Africa, the characters are all too familiar. Mandela's often quoted words kept resurfacing: 'I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.' We all need to be braver. This is certainly a courageous first novel that deserves acclaim. I look forward to more from Marli Roode.