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Ways of Dying is 'n roman geskryf deur Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer Zakes Mda.

Die hoofkarakter is Toloki, 'n verbygaande professionele rouklaer wat beweeg deur die plakkerskampe in 'n stad in Suid-Afrika.

Die rondreisende treurder kom 'n mengelmoes verskeidenheid van wreedhede teë.

Hy woon begrafnisse by in verskeie buurte en dra 'n verflenterde pak klere, skouermantel en 'n verslete keil om die families te troos wat geliefdes verloor het as gevolg van misdaad.

Die gebrek in die plakkerskampe is verbysterend, net soos die haat onder rasse na die einde van apartheid.

Soos hy deur die stad beweeg en die geweld bepeins wat algemeen is in die vervalle woonbuurte, ontmoet hy toevallig vir Noria, 'n vrou wat hy geken het toe hy nog 'n kind was.

Hy voer rou pligte uit by die begrafnis van haar seun op Kersdag en toe trek hulle saam in.

Hulle begin 'n romantiese verhouding, help om mekaar te genees en albei wat sê die ander een leer hom/haar die regte manier om te lewe.

Die roman is daarop gemik om Suid-Afrika op te bou na die einde van die apartheidsbewind.

Ways of Dying plaas geluk langs tragedie vir die doel om te ondersoek hoe die twee teenstellende emosies saamwerk wanneer mense die krisisse in hul lewens konfronteer.

Die gesag van die regering en die konflikte tussen die sosiale klasse is ook sleutel-temas regdeur die roman.

Ways of Dying het die M-Net Boekprys gewen vir Mda.

Die Suid-Afrikaanse TV netwerk M-Net deel die toekenning uit aan boeke wat geskryf is in een van die amptelike tale van Suid-Afrika.

----Formal English----

Ways of Dying is a novel written by South African writer Zakes Mda.

The main character is Toloki, a transient professional mourner who moves through the shantytowns in a city in South Africa.

The itinerant lamenter encounters a motley array of ferocities.

He attends funerals in various neighborhoods wearing a tattered suit and cape and a shabby top hat to comfort the families who have lost loved ones to crime.

The penury in the shantytowns is staggering, as is the hatred among races after the end of apartheid.

As he moves through the city, contemplating the violence that's prevalent in the blighted neighborhoods, he happens to meet Noria, a woman he had known while he was a child.

He performs mourning duties at the funeral of her son on Christmas Day, and then they move in together.

They begin an amorous relationship, helping each other heal and with each saying that the other is teaching them the right way to live.

The novel is aimed at building up South Africa after the end of the apartheid regime.

Ways of Dying places happiness next to tragedy for the purpose of examining how the two antithetical emotions work together as people confront the crises in their lives.

The authority of the government and the conflicts between the social classes also are key themes running through the novel.

Ways of Dying won the M-Net Book Prize for Mda.

The South African TV network M-Net hands the award out to books that are written on one of the official languages of South Africa.

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