Kramer and Zondi
Encyclopedia
The Kramer and Zondi novels are a series of Police procedurals by James H. McClure
set in apartheid era South Africa. The action largely takes place in the fictional city of Trekkersberg
As a whole they form a subtle but damning critique of everyday life in Natal during the years of National Party
rule.
Tromp Kramer is an outwardly conventional Afrikaner from the "one-horse dorp" of Bethlehem in the Orange Free State
. When in conversation with a conservative colleague like Dr Strydom, the pathologist, he adopts the racial prejudices expected of him. In the field, however, he relies heavily on the incisive deductions of his Bantu assistant, Mickey Zondi. For example in The Song Dog it is Zondi who uses his knowledge of tracks to locate a fugitive: he knows a child takes the most discursive route, a woman the most practical and the man the most direct..
The books contrast the moral differences between the two men ( Zondi a dedicated family man; Kramer an amoral opportunist) while hinting at a deep respect for each others' abilities.
Notes
James H. McClure
James Howe McClure was a British author and journalist best known for his Kramer and Zondi mysteries set in South Africa....
set in apartheid era South Africa. The action largely takes place in the fictional city of Trekkersberg
As a whole they form a subtle but damning critique of everyday life in Natal during the years of National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
rule.
Tromp Kramer is an outwardly conventional Afrikaner from the "one-horse dorp" of Bethlehem in the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
. When in conversation with a conservative colleague like Dr Strydom, the pathologist, he adopts the racial prejudices expected of him. In the field, however, he relies heavily on the incisive deductions of his Bantu assistant, Mickey Zondi. For example in The Song Dog it is Zondi who uses his knowledge of tracks to locate a fugitive: he knows a child takes the most discursive route, a woman the most practical and the man the most direct..
The books contrast the moral differences between the two men ( Zondi a dedicated family man; Kramer an amoral opportunist) while hinting at a deep respect for each others' abilities.
Notes