A Father Is Born

The death of Neo “Snowy” Mashaba at 55 provokes an intense emotional reaction in his son, Tumiso, the author of this moving portrait of a relationship between a father and son. Tumiso is stunned by his emotional response, as his father was a distant and often brutal presence in his childhood. This launches him down the road of personal investigation of his childhood, but also what it means to him now as a father to his own children. Will he repeat the sins of his father? The author digs deep into his own psychology, providing a deeply satisfying read with well-drawn characters and moments of intense anguish and catharsis.

Covering themes of fatherhood, black masculinity, toxic masculinity, generational trauma, infidelity, abuse, and suicide and mental health, Mashaba creates a realistic backdrop of a gritty modern South Africa.