Acid Drops And Pineapple Rock
We are all children of circumstance, born into a society that demands we conform to a system created by its cultural and social values. It doesn’t work for everyone. In fact it doesn’t really work for anyone since life is one big compromise; we respond to the greatest pressure at any one time. We all try to seek a balance between personal fulfilment, work, family and bank balance. Few of us truly succeed. This dilemma, told in a unique, often humorous way, forms the framework for the story while other more dynamic and complex themes are introduced as the tale progresses.
Set during the transitional period that marked the end of the apartheid era and Mandela’s rise to power, Acid Drops & Pineapple Rock is the story of a young, British family deciding that family harmony will be achieved by quitting the fast lane in favour of change - a sea change. Set in South Africa’s Mother City, Cape Town, our family soon has to come to terms with the realisation that their values do not transport nearly so easily as they do. Expectations must be modified and adjustments made.
A colourful cast of fascinating characters steadily increases as the tale progresses. Acid Drops & Pineapple Rock records the reality of life for them all in a society coming together for the first time in a democratic and economic context. Their historic prejudices, conditioning and values must all change but change needs time and time is something they don’t have. Acid Drops & Pineapple Rock echoes its stage - on the surface stunningly beautiful and European-like but beneath, a turbulent, cruel and violent world created by years of social and economic dislocation, cultural isolation and racist politics.
The story begins in a light, humorous and anecdotal vein, spiced with dashes of cynicism and irreverence. Our family grapples with the day-to-day problems of life in surroundings that might appear to be similar to those left behind but are they? Values and environment aren’t quite what they were. Their attempt to achieve a balanced life is littered with numerous scrapes and adventures that come their way – such as a face-to-face encounter with a Cape Cobra and being centre-stage in an armed robbery. Even simple shopping trips and quiet evenings at home turn into major ordeals!
As the tale progresses a second important and perhaps controversial theme is woven in to the whole. This centres on the issue of gratuitous violence endemic at that time. Slowly but most surely you are introduced to the darker, more brutal side of life in this transitional society. This is a legacy of history – of racial conflict and a political resolution that failed to deal satisfactorily with extremists or related social issues. In the meantime life must go on. Media coverage was sanitised for both local and international consumption, with many crimes of extreme violence failing to receive news coverage. Violence in South Africa can touch anyone at any time. It visits the story’s central characters in a dramatic and devastating manner.
Acid Drops & Pineapple Rock is a compelling read that will prove to be a bittersweet experience. It is a story of deeply contrasting moods and writing styles. It will make you laugh and it will horrify you. It is fiction based on fact. Acid Drops & Pineapple Rock will touch all of your emotional extremes and shed light on the enigma that is South Africa.
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