Book cover

We have two selves: a real-world self and a phone self, and the nonsense our phone selves do can make our real-world selves look like idiots. Our real-world selves and our phone selves go hand in hand. Act like a dummy with your phone self and send some thoughtless message full of spelling errors, and the real-world self will pay the price. The person on the other end sees no difference between your two selves

Andingomntu othanda ukufunda iincwadi ezithetha ngobomi babantu, ngaphandle ukuba abo bantu ndiyabazi kwaye ngabantu ababephambili kwixesha lomzabalazo eMzantsi Afrika (macala onke). Andithandi kakhulu ukufunda ngobomi babantu abafumene udumo ngokucula, kunye namanye amacala wolonwabiso. Inye qha incwadi ndakhe ndayifunda ithetha ngobomi be-comedian, nayo ndayifunda ngentla yegama layo : My Shit Life So Far by Frankie Boyle

Le ncwadi ndiyifunde kuba ndive lukhulu ngayo. Kwaye bendixakene ne-novel yesithathu ka-Stephen King kwi-trilogy yomdlali wakhe u-Bill K. Hodges; End of Watch. Ithe kanti u-Aziz akazobalisa ngobomi bakhe, ngeziqhu zakhe kunye nokuthandana kwakhe. Andifuni kuxoka kodwa, andizazi ndiziva njani ngale ncwadi. Ibimnandi yona kodwa ndinengxaki enkulu ngendlela abacacisa ngayo iindawo ezingaphandle kweMelika, ngakumbi indlela abathethe ngayo i-Japan. Phambi kokuba sithethe ngalonto, ndifuna kucace ukuba eyona nto intle kulencwadi kukuveza iindlela sitshintshe ngayo ekuthetheni, i-Internet isenze salibala ukuba ngabantu aba bafunda obu bubhanxa sibubhalayo.

Imibuzo esinayo malunga noluntu, ngakumbi xa thina sinemibuzo singaluqhelanga uluntu olo, iyasikhumbuza ukuba xa sicacisa into esiyifundileyo - sikhumbule ukuba sithetha ngabanye abantu, hayi ii-aliens ezisencwadini. Ibalulekile le nto ngoba ibangela umbhali alumke, angabaxi izinto ezenzekayo kwezinye iindawo. Into embi kodwa endiyibonayo ngoku yinto yokuba kukho ingqokelela yababhali abasuka eMelika abathetha ububhanxa xa bethetha ngezinye iindawo ngenxa yokubaxa izinto. Le nto indikhumbuza iingcinga zika-Chinua Achebe ngencwadi ethi Heart of Darkness.

Kulencwadi u-Aziz uthetha ngamadoda aziwa ngokuba zii-“herbivore”. La ngamadoda amagwala kakhulu caba kunzima ukuqala ubudlelwane nabasetyhini. Ndiyaqonda ukuba bakhona abantu abanjalo (kuwo onke amazwe), kodwa le ndoda ibhale ngale nto ngokungathi sisizathu esiphambili esibangele ukuhla kwenani laseJapan. Andiyotshe ngoluntu lwaseJapan kodwa ndiyaqonda ukuba zingaba ninzi izizathu ezibangele inani lihle. Nangona kunjalo, isiphelo salencwadi senza kubengathi amadoda amaninzi e-Japan zii-“herbivore” ngaphandle kwabantu abambalwa.

Kuleveki mendimamele udliwanondlebe phakathi ko-Pamela Paul we New York Times kunye nombhali u-Justine van der Leun. Bebethetha ngencwadi yakhe entsha. Khange ndikwazi ukubamamela bade bagqibe ngenxa yendlela acacisa uMzantsi Afrika lo mbhali. Xa uzakubalisa ibali labantu okanye ngabantu, ndicinga ukuba kubalulekile ukuqala ufunde banzi ngabo kunye nendawo leyo. Nazi ezinye zezinto bezithethwa ngulo mbhali:

  1. Coloured, the South African term for mixed race.
  2. She was studying the rights of black women and children in these post colonial societies…in Africa. She was doing voter education rights because people didn’t know how to vote. They had never voted before … and it was leading up to this election, you had to teach the people how do you vote, how do you exercise that right.
  3. [Amy Biehl was someone ] who had, since high school been obsessed with Mandela, and bringing democracy and human rights work to South Africa

Ndizakuyiyekela kuwe into yokubona ingxaki ngezizinto azithethayo lo. Le ncwadi yakhe, njengo Modern Romance ka Aziz Ansari, inikwa iqonga kumaphepha amakhulu (New York Times, Sunday Times) kuba umbhali ngowaseMelika. Ndiqinisekile ukuba zikhona ezinye izizathu kodwa eso sihamba phambili. Kufuneka silumke kodwa ngeendlela abacacisa ngazo ezinye iindawo aba bantu!