Dhlamini "Shatterproof" Bhekuzulu is a wily tsotsi geeza if there ever was one. Born into a world with two options for the black man: life as a doormat, or life as a tsotsi, Shatterproof chooses the one that absolves him from begging the nazi amaboere for every oxygen inhalation. Uncle Phuza "Babalaza" Mthembu and later "The General" kick-start Shatterproof's life as a tsotsi - a life his crafty nature ensures he is particularly adept at - a life that sees the amarands come rolling in, and that's how he likes it, mfowethu, thank you very much. The intricate networks of township crime are slowly unravelled as Shatterproof gives apartheid-era authority the finger and merrily exploits any loophole that catches his eye. Illegal business is the most profitable business, and the apartheid government has made sure that virtually everything is illegal for the black man. What a festive state of affairs for an ambitious cookboy such as himself. Despite his best intentions of avoiding violence at all costs, his mampara of a philandering brother Vilakazi, whose brain was always wrapped around his erect umthondo, gets Shatterproof into a series of disasters, until one day - Vilakazi is dead. His brother's death sends Shatterproof spiralling out of control into a dingy world of sex, drugs, alcohol, insurance scams and the type of trouble that lands a man with a one-way ticket to London and a job in an ANC-operated 'Gentleman's Gaming Club' in London. A drug-smuggling deal gone wrong lands Shatterproof back on African soil where he reunites with his family and starts up a legal, yes legal restaurant mfowethu and things go well for a while. But when his previous tsotsi life comes knocking on the restaurant door, Shatterproof finds himself unable to resist...Torn between his adoration for his straight-living wife and son and the irresistible draw of the criminal underworld, Shatterproof has the same allure as the much-loved Tony from the television series The Sopranos. Headstrong, smart, cunning and strangely endearing, Dhlamini "Shatterproof" Bhekuzulu is the Lazarus of the tsotsi world, dithering between his need for redemption and his love for illicit scheming, between his shrewd business deals and his predisposition to get in trouble. Violent, funny and intriguing, the story of African cookboy, tsotsi geeza, father, husband, businessman, ganster and soldier, Dhlamini "Shatterproof" Bhekuzulu ensures that the reader cannot help falling in love with this magnetic character whilst pensively watch him dig his own grave, one disastrous decision at a time.

Book Information
ISBN 9781770098695
Author David Dinwoodie Irving
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Jacana Media
Publisher Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd