FORENSIC pathologist and sleight-of-hand magician Ryan Blumenthal has released his third book, The Rain Beetle. This lightweight novella follows in the self-published footsteps of his previous titles, The Seed (fiction) and Mentalist Martial Arts (nonfiction).
It has an attractive cover that encourages one to pick it up and examine the mythical iridescent beetle more closely. When looked at from another angle, it appears as a frightening mask.
It is not too far a stretch to imagine that Blumenthal’s professional work with victims of lightning and suicide has sparked his curiosity into a cross-cultural exploration of voodoo and fate, science and philosophy.
In The Rain Beetle, a nameless tribe living somewhere in "the heart of Africa" falls victim to calamity when Eli, a young boy, kills the sacred turquoise beetle. An extended drought ensues. Healers, secret remedies, initiation rites, lovers and lost villages notwithstanding, it is a famous professor who cracks the code years later, ensuring that the whole saga repeats itself down the generations.
The author used a similar narrative template in his debut novel, which was set in "legendary Africa, deep in the bushveld". In The Seed, the tension revolves around a magical seed as the catalyst for calamity.
Like the forensic anthropologist who gained insight into the forbidden knowledge in The Seed, a famous academic unlocks primeval secrets in The Rain Beetle. The author’s penchant for science-meets-myth emerges in paint-by-numbers storytelling that is essentialist and naive.
Blumenthal has not developed as a writer since his first novella. The language swings from singsong to flat, reinforcing violent stereotypes: "Suddenly, another person threw a stone at the boy. Then another, and then another. His poor mother tried to block the stones with her body. Eli tried to guard his face, upon which there were now signs of sudden and very real fear." The mother is dragged away. Kicks and punches ensue. The boy is set alight.
One imagines this book was written for a young adult audience because a boy is the agent of the chaos. However, the story is replete with improbabilities, for example a drought that continues unabated for 50 years.
What clearly beggars the imagination is the holy hill, Gumbandebvu, now specifically located in the Northern Province of South Africa, upon which no man should set foot, for no man would ever come off alive.
It is "not very high, only about 50m and not very big, at about 800 square metres", barely a tenth the size of a rugby field. Despite these strictures, Gumbandebvu is covered with "dense thicket and contains all the wild and dangerous animals" of the area. As well as being home to a 2,000-year-old baobab tree, it is the scene of many activities, including deadly initiation rites and the burial ground of countless generations of tribal members — presumably those who foolishly set foot upon it.
The stilted narration, unbelievable characters, contrived plot and repetitious faux-declamatory style ensure the book will not work for contemporary teens.
Details
- TITLE: The Rain Beetle
- AUTHOR: Ryan Blumenthal
- PUBLISHER: G2 Rights
Blumenthal appears to have taken Binyavanga Wainaina’s satirical essay, How To Write About Africa, to heart: "Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. The Ancient Wise Man always comes from a noble tribe."
Blumenthal has not succeeded in reworking the cliché of the African tribe suffering under a mysterious curse. The Rain Beetle reinforces the "Africa is a country" stereotype. The writer’s task is to imagine hidden realms and realise them in fresh images and original language. It is arguably easier to write what is known and Blumenthal is on firmer ground when tackling the familiar. He would do well to abandon all preconceptions when entering unknown territory.
Writers who bypass gatekeepers in the publishing industry also bypass the editors who take a promising story from possible to publishable. Sadly, this book is a prime example of how not to go about self-publishing.
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About the author
RYAN BLUMENTHAL Blumenthal is a South African author and forensic pathologist who "would sincerely like to be part of the process that advances forensic pathology worldwide".
His publications include: A Retrospective Review of 1018 Suicide Cases from the Capital City of SA for the Period 1997-2000, The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Volume 25, Number 1, March 2004; Lightning Fatalities on the South African Highveld: A Retrospective Descriptive Study for the Period 1997-2000, The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Volume 26, Number 1, March 2005; When thunder roars — go indoors! Lightning Autopsy guidelines, South African Medical Journal, January 2006, Volume 96, Number 1; and Suicidal Gunshot Wounds to the Head — a Retrospective Review of 406 cases, The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, December 2007.
His fields of interest include electrothermal injuries, keraunopathology (the study of lightning-induced pathology or damage), and the pathology of suicide.
His hobbies include bird-watching and road-running and he is a "sleight of hand expert", having attended three International Federation of Magic Societies congresses.
Source: www.struckbylightning.org
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