Once bitten...

An interview with Niq Mhlongo

Dog Eat Dog by Niq Mhlongo
Published by Kwela 2004, ISBN: 0795701799
240 pages, softcover
R120.00

About Dog Eat Dog:

"An exciting manuscript and a lively read; the narrator has a humorous, wry voice, perceptive and cynical. A welcome glimpse into the lives of the 'kwaito generation', both in the township and on campus."

1. Did you always know you were going to write a book or books?

   I guess the idea has been in my mind for some time since high school. Looking into my old exercise books I can see some bits of short stories that I wrote then. That is the reason that when I went to Wits I decided on African Literature as my major course. I hoped the course would polish that dream and it did.

2. When did you write this novel?

   I started in the first week of March 2001 at my brother's house in Leonedale (Germiston - Jo'burg) and I finished in November. I was now staying at my home in Soweto-Chiawelo.

3. Why did you use Wits? Didn't you worry that people would see Niq Mhlongo when they thought of Dingz, with your having gone to Wits yourself?

   I want Wits to be taken as any institution of higher learning. Of course I studied there, but I used that institution to address the problems and excitement that come with being a student. Those problems and excitement are not unique to Wits, but are found at other institutions as well. For example, students at both Wits and North-West University went on strike - that to me meant that "dog is still eating dog" in the higher-learning environment. Dingz can be anybody who went through similar experiences to those of the character in my book. That makes my book timeless - because I guess there were students before Dingz of 1994 in the novel who experienced similar problems and excitement in their university life. I guess there is Dingz now and there will probably be a Dingz in the future.

4. How did Dingz walk into your head?

   Dingz came to me through a dream, my own and other people's experience, my wishes and other people's wishes, what I observed, witnessed, thought, me at the pub, from reading, from telephone conversations etc. I created Dingz from all these influences.

5. Was there any hesitation on your part that people wouldn't like a "real" character like Dingz?

   I wanted to make a shift from a traditional "hero" kind of character to a more complex one. Dingz is that type of a character - one you can sympathise with, hate, love, laugh at. I wanted people to be able to understand the complex nature of the kwaito generation through him.

6. What did writing Dog Eat Dog teach you about yourself?

   That I can be what I want to be in life by simply putting enough effort into everything that I do.

7. How did you feel when you'd finished the final sentence?

   It was a great relief, because selecting a sentence to go with from many jumbled ideas in one's mind can be a difficult task. You try to read it out many times and think of the reader at the same time. One sentence can be rewritten several times until you are satisfied with the tone - because you want the message to be clear to the reader.

8. How do you see yourself now that you've published your first novel?
   And how do you feel when you walk into a bookshop and see your bright red book on the shelf?

   I am still in the learning process, but I am glad that I have made a novel written by myself. I still have a difficult task ahead of me to be consistent with the standard that I have set for myself in writing Dog eat dog. I hope I meet those standards in the second novel. I am very proud of my achievement when I go to the bookshop and see my own work. That also encourages me to write more and be recognised in the world of literature.

9. Who is Niq Mhlongo on an average day?

   During the week he watches Morning Live news in the morning around seven. Reads the paper - at least two every day (at least I get them free where I work now) from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. if I have a chance. Then start doing work. Lunch-time walk around town (it is the only exercise I can afford and it keeps my mind focused). In the evening I watch news again and some soapies. For about two hours I read a novel with music or the radio on. Sundays I cannot do without a newspaper and a radio on. I just have to have a newspaper and I don't remember a Sunday without it. Saturday I go out most of the time with friends. I am indoors most of the time reading a newspaper. I also love soccer, so if there is any on TV I watch it irrespective of the teams playing.

10. What do you do to indulge?

    I buy CDs and a novel almost every month. I have no specific music genre that I prefer. Anything that sounds nice to my ears I buy.

11. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

    I would love to explore Africa first. Egypt comes first because they have historical sites like the pyramids. I would love to see the Nile River, Victoria Falls, Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti Game Reserve - I know these places only through books and the TV. Then I have a fantasy dream of buying an "around the world plane ticket" to see Europe and America.

12. What inspires you about South Africa?

    Besides being a beautiful country, South Africa has one of the best democracies in the world which was achieved through tolerance among our different peoples. I think a writer needs such a kind of healthy environment, like freedom of expression to be able to tell a story.

13. a. What does Youth Day mean to you?

    It is a recognition of the role played by the youth of this country towards liberation. It is also a lesson, challenge and reminder to the kwaito generation that they must get involved in the building of the country as well.

    b. What are your feelings on the events and celebrations that took place?

    It is a good thing that the youth participate. We must remember where we come from and the people who risked their lives for the liberation of this country.

    c. What did you do on Youth Day?

    I wish I could have attended one of the rallies, but I had to finish something for my job.

14. Your Kwela bio tells us you're an avid reader. What are you reading at the moment?

    A friend of mine called Bongani Madondo in Jo'burg had recommended that I read Toby Young's How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. I bought a copy and I'm reading it. Very interesting.

15. When last did you go to the movies and what did you see?

    It was The Passion of the Christ last month.

16. What's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about you (or your work)?

    It must be the reviews from Sunday Independent, Cape Argus, Sunday World, Ymag. I think all of them were great and encouraging me as a young and new writer. But two friends of mine called Sbongile Tito and Nathi Mthembu told me they loved the book because it captures the student life and life in the township well. They said they identify with the book quite well.

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