Page 41 - DUT Excellence

DUT’S ZONDI LAUNCHES HER FIRST NOVEL CALLED
MAGUBANE’S BOOK EXPLORES LOVEIN THE ERA OF THE RUSTY TIN HOTEL
Pictured: Author, Nomali Zondi.
“Launching my book was my proudest moment; it felt so good to accomplish such a task. God knows there were times when I felt discouraged and was tempted to give
up, but it was like a baby growing inside me that just had to be born, though the gestation period for books is a lot longer than it is for babies,” chuckled the elated Nomali Zondi.
Zondi is from Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal. She is a mother and a writer with a passion for telling stories about the lives of her people, especially black women who have had to struggle against the tide to nd their place in the sun. She has a background in Journalism, and is currently a second-year Bachelor of Applied Arts in Screen Arts and Technology student, who recently launched her rst novel called The Rusty Tin Hotel.
She also received a rst prize award for her short story titled: Rebellion at the DUT’s Writing Centre competition on the subject of the coronavirus (#Covid19 #TheNewNormal).
Giving a synopsis of the book, Zondi said that it focuses on the story of ve Zulu girls from very different backgrounds and their journey into womanhood.
“They belong to the so-called ‘born free’ generation and have no personal experience of apartheid, though they live under the long shadow it cast in the years since the rst democratic elections in South Africa. They link up and become friends when they nd themselves as boarders in the famous Inanda Seminary School. To succeed, they must contend and weather a cruel gauntlet of obstacles and setbacks that could crush anyone’s ambition. Against this background, their way of life unfolds for each: their struggles to break free from the shackles that enslave them, the careers they choose, and the enduring friendship that binds and sustains them,” she said.
Zondi relayed that she has always been a writer since she was a child.Writing has always been her way of expressing herself without fear of judgement.“I remember watching a telenovela as a child and being in awe of a character named Paul Mashaba who was writing a book. It was at that time that I decided I was going to write a book someday,” she said.
She expressed that she had some challenges while writing her novel. “The hardest challenge like most writers would tell you, was having to sit down every day and write something because there were times
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