18 October 2011 Cynthia Jele reflects on ‘Happiness’
Cynthia Jele – regional winner Commonwealth Writers’ prize 2011 for
Happiness is a Four-Letter Word.
Cynthia is a South African-born writer in her thirties who grew up in a small
border town in the province of Mpumalanga. She studied in South Africa and
the US, and holds a BA in International Business from North Central College,
Illinois. Happiness is a Four-letter Word is Cynthia’s debut novel. It is a story
about human frailties, conflicts and difficult resolutions in the search for
happiness. Cynthia lives in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg and works as a
management consultant.
Did you start off by writing short stories and develop your writing from
there? Or did you start with a novel?
I started my writing career with short stories. Happiness is a Four-Letter Word
follows a similar format as it’s made up of four distinct stories woven into one.
How do you keep going when you reach a block with your book? What
inspires you to find ways round the problem?
With Happiness is a Four-Letter Word it was easier to deal with the ‘block’
because the book is really made up of four interlinked stories. Each time I
struggled with one character’s storyline, I simply picked another character and
started a new story.
What would you say you’d learned from writing your most recent work?
When I started with Happiness, I was just writing a book that I wanted my friends
to read and enjoy because the book talked about “us”. Towards the end of the
book I realised I was actually reflecting on how my generation (those who
witnessed apartheid firsthand) is really doing and whether we’re living up to the
expectations of prosperity that has come with freedom. I also learned that some
people take what you’ve written close to heart – I’ve had women tell me how
much they identify with the characters in the book and the decisions they make.
What advice would you give to writers who’ve had first books rejected by
an agent or publisher?
I think only a handful of writers get published the first time around, for most
rejection is part of the process. Having said that, there are a few things to do to
limit the number of further rejections: learn from your mistakes – figure out
what you’re doing wrong and fix it; be thorough with your editing; it helps to
have a second reader – not just your friend but someone who is really invested in
your work; and research the publishers – don’t just blindly send your manuscript
to every publisher under the sun.
Who is your favourite writer and why?
I ‘m not very loyal to writers, I’m loyal to certain books: White Teeth by Zadie
Smith. I love her use of language and the humorous manner in which she tells the
otherwise poignant stories of immigrants in London and their quest for identity.
Other memorable books include The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy,
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and The Corrections by Jonathan
Franzen. I am a huge fan of short stories, particularly by African writers – I have
accumulated a respectable collection over the years. Petina Gappah’s An Elegy for Easterly,
an anthology of short stories set in Zimbabwe is simply brilliant.
Do you think fiction can be used to encourage cross-cultural
understanding?
I think so. Fiction allows the writer to tackle cultural issues that perhaps would
be difficult to write in their true form. I remember reading Aminatta Forna’s
The Memory of Love and seeing a different Sierra Leone – one alive with possibilities
– nothing like I had in mind about the country.
What should we go away and read right now?
I enjoyed Téa Obreht's, The Tiger’s Wife, To See the Mountain and Other Stories:
2011 Caine Prize for African Writing, and a collection of short stories entitled,
African Delights by a South African writer, Siphiwo Mahala.
