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Dreaming of Light
"It's a story like smoke, I think. No one can catch it because there's nothing there."
In the heat and darkness underground, Regile Dlamini has stopped believing in anything much. Boys trafficked from their home countries, kept captive and controlled by a man they call Papa Mavuso, forced to work in an illegal gold mine near Barberton: their lives are brutal, terrifying and frequently short.
In contrast to Regile, the young Taiba Nhaca steadfastly believes in the legend of Spike Maphosa, a zama zama who is said to have escaped the horror of life in a mine. The inhumane conditions and savage beatings cannot shake Taiba's faith, something Regile finds disturbing. Above ground, Papa Mavuso's daughter Katekani shares Taiba's belief that their lives can change for the better, but Regile wants nothing to do with their unrealistic dreaming.
Is Katekani right when she tells him the mine has stolen his soul? Or is it his humanity that is lost?
In the heat and darkness underground, Regile Dlamini has stopped believing in anything much. Boys trafficked from their home countries, kept captive and controlled by a man they call Papa Mavuso, forced to work in an illegal gold mine near Barberton: their lives are brutal, terrifying and frequently short.
In contrast to Regile, the young Taiba Nhaca steadfastly believes in the legend of Spike Maphosa, a zama zama who is said to have escaped the horror of life in a mine. The inhumane conditions and savage beatings cannot shake Taiba's faith, something Regile finds disturbing. Above ground, Papa Mavuso's daughter Katekani shares Taiba's belief that their lives can change for the better, but Regile wants nothing to do with their unrealistic dreaming.
Is Katekani right when she tells him the mine has stolen his soul? Or is it his humanity that is lost?
- GenresSchool
111 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
58 people are currently reading
484 people want to read
About the author
Jayne Bauling
58 books71 followersJayne was born in England but grew up in South Africa. After many years in Johannesburg and 17 women's fiction novels published in the UK, a move to White River, Mbombela in Mpumalanga, coincided with an exploration of new writing directions - youth fiction, short stories and poetry. Her YA novel E Eights won the 2009 Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa, Stepping Solo was awarded the 2011 Maskew Miller Longman literature award for novels in English, and Dreaming of Light won the 2012 Gold Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature and was chosen for the 2014 IBBY Honour List. Her youth short story Dineo 658 MP won the 2009 MML silver medal, while This Ubuntu Thing was shortlisted for the inaugural Golden Baobab award and The Saturday Dress was shortlisted for the same award in 2014. In 2011 she also won the inaugural African Writing flash fiction prize for Settling. She has twice been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Another youth novel Our Side of the Wall was shortlisted for the Sanlam Prize. Her adult short stories have appeared in The Bed Book of Short Stories (Modjaji Books), The Edge of Things (Dye Hard Press), African Pens 2011 (Jacana), Feast, Famine & Potluck (Short Story Day Africa), the e-anthology Behind the Shadows, and (the stories An Inappropriate Woman and Witch and Bitch)in the People Opposing Women Abuse Breaking the Silence annual anthologies (Jacana). Rage and Misfortune, her retelling of the OT Samson story was published online by Ludic Press. Poetry: Symbiosis won SAFM's Express Yourself prize, Fist was placed 3rd in the 2008 POWA Women's Writing Project and published in Murmurs of the Girl in Me, while Unschooled was published in POWA's 2010 anthology Stories of the Othere(ed) Woman and The Ladies Take Tea in POWA's 2012 anthology Sisterhood. More poetry in ouroboros review, Markings, poetandgeek, Ons Klyntji, Litnet and the Lowvelder.
Her latest novel is Soccer Secrets (Cover2Cover Books).
Visit her Facebook page Jayne Bauling Writer or follow her on Twitter @JayneBauling
Her latest novel is Soccer Secrets (Cover2Cover Books).
Visit her Facebook page Jayne Bauling Writer or follow her on Twitter @JayneBauling
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 25, 2022
Forth reread:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Third read:
Nope. I still don't like it. But, there are parts that seem less painful. I still wish that we could choose our own books to do with the kids. These books are not going to encourage any reluctant reader to pick up a book.
Second read 2019:
Oh thank Merlin that is over. Some parts of the book worked better the second time, but that could have been because I had a better class to teach it to. It is still a story that promises a lot and delivers very little. I hate subjecting kids to half-baked books when there are so many fabulous books out there that could actually make them view reading as fun and not a pointless chore.
First read 2018:
I do not understand why they make books like this prescribed reading. It was dull, repetitive and offered absolutely no depth. The only thing this book will accomplish is the affirmation to kids that they don't like reading.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Third read:
Nope. I still don't like it. But, there are parts that seem less painful. I still wish that we could choose our own books to do with the kids. These books are not going to encourage any reluctant reader to pick up a book.
Second read 2019:
Oh thank Merlin that is over. Some parts of the book worked better the second time, but that could have been because I had a better class to teach it to. It is still a story that promises a lot and delivers very little. I hate subjecting kids to half-baked books when there are so many fabulous books out there that could actually make them view reading as fun and not a pointless chore.
First read 2018:
I do not understand why they make books like this prescribed reading. It was dull, repetitive and offered absolutely no depth. The only thing this book will accomplish is the affirmation to kids that they don't like reading.
July 20, 2019
I have received a copy of the book Dreaming Of Light from my former secondary school, I was in grade 12 then, and the book was prescribed for grade 11. The year was 2015. Knowing Jayne Bauling from literary competitions I used to, and still participating in them, it made me want to read the book. I was 17 then, I did not know what I would be looking for even if I read the book, so I had put the book away until now, I have grown, 21 years of age, being a competitive writer from early ages of 15, I now know what to look for when reading a literary work, all thanks to varsity for that.
The cover of the book, shows a young boy heading towards the mine, clouds suspended on a twilight, hence reflecting on the title of the book Dreaming of Light, giving it a yellow colour. Without having read the book, the title becomes connotative, at least to me, the young boy appears to be a mineworker, forced by poverty at home to drop out of school and find work in order to help contribute in the family income. This is common in South Africa, we have rich criminals and poor graduates, there is an oversupply of graduates with limited jobs offered or created, and this becomes another factor which demotivates people from studying further.
In reading the book, the first chapter introduces us to the characters in the story (I will disregard the school edition introduction, and review the novel manuscript in isolation). Regile Dhlamini is seeming to be our main character, the novel is told from a first person narrative. He is in a mine with other two boys from Mozambique, Taiba and Aires, whom were stolen from their poverty stricken home country in promise for a job only for a month with big amount of money. There is a master whom they work for, Papa Mavuso, in this illegal mining operation. Regile explains that Taiba and Aires appear to be 13 to 14 years old, while he is the oldest, 18 years old, the two boys can’t take the pressure anymore, they wish to be rescued by the police or the mighty ‘Spike Maphosa’. Taiba, unlike Aires, has an active voice in the novel, almost equivalent to the one of Regile, creating a conflict head-on! Whenever he hears gunshots from outside, he keeps hoping that perhaps it would be the police whom have come to rescue them, but then Regile laughs sarcastically at his wishes, and tells him that he should just give in, because nobody is ever coming to rescue them.
However, Regile himself has not given in either. He keeps wanting to experience life outside the mine, outside the corrupt operations and reporting to people like Papa Mavuso, he longs for simple things like watching the sunrise, spending time with his mother, and watching girls in their beautiful doll-like faces. He has to give up his soul into the mine, and stop wanting or having other wishes, because that is dangerous, he says.
The novel is set in a mine somewhere in Mpumalanga mountains, that is where a lot of characters interaction takes place. As the novel unfolds into chapters, we are introduced by Regile to other characters such as Faceman who works closely with Papa Mavuso in this zama zama syndicate, he is angry that Mavuso always brings children who cannot do the hard work, they just lazy around. Everyone is afraid of Faceman, he is violent. Takunda, Mahlori, Moreira, Juvenal, and Januario, are some of the men underground who does all the dirty mine work. Taiba challenges Regile’s character of being meh to everything that happens in the mine. He has submitted himself to the work, and forgot about everything, while Taiba hopes that the hero Spike Maphosa will someday come and rescue them. He is confident, hopeful, and fearless too. He always speaks up, and this always ends him in trouble, in the squashing fists of Faceman.
The book explores the theme of hope, it is more like a quest with Regile being the guide or the key map to the golden treasure ‘Spike Maphosa’. However, Regile’s character of being self-absorbed and wanting to act like a ‘man’ by not entertaining anything outside life underground puts the book at the risk of being uninteresting, but as you read chapter through chapter, you get to learn about the other side of him which makes him act in a caring and most concerned manner possible, even though he does not want to show it, his care for Taiba and Aires, and for Katekani, for example. Young foreign boys are picked from countries such as Swaziland, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe in promise for a better job with good salary, it becomes a different story when they get introduced to illegal mining operations, going months without pay, and working under extremely dangerous and harsh conditions under the earth.
Although most of these zama zama boys had given up their souls, their lives, to what now seem to be their new lives, being under the surface of the earth and breaking rocks forcing them to give them gold; Taiba has not. You see, Taiba is the light in the book, throughout the novel, he is confident and stays on hope that one day he will be free from all this darkness, that they all will be free, all these zama zama boys, including Regile too. He hopes that Spike Maphosa will come, or he will find him, and help them, free them from the entrapment.
True friendship without boundaries can be seen from Taiba and Aires, the way Taiba looks out for Aires, always taking the blame for him and wanting to break free with him, get in trouble to save both of them, is one of the evident themes also. Loneliness, melancholy, is what Regile on the other hand experiences. As much as he looks after everyone throughout the book, nobody cares about him, except Papa Mavuso, whom also only cares because Regile has been working for him for over four years, so he trusts him to take care of the new boys into the operation. He longs for simple things he had even forgot how they feel like, and look like, things like the smell of raindrops pattering on the ground, calming the dust and giving out a scent of nature; the smell of flowers and trees; a feeling you get when you have feelings for a girl and being shy to approach her; or being intimate… these are some of the things that have a created a void in himself.
Taiba’s hopes gets extremely high when he reads a newspaper about Spike whom it is written he is still out there, alive, former illegal mineworker too, now an artist. The escape of Taiba, helped by Katekani who is Papa Mavuso’s daughter, he is accompanied by Regile. Taiba has infected Regile with his well-wishing and dreams for the best at last. Their journey to Spike Maphosa, whom is now no longer a myth of a former illegal miner who once helped other zama zamas and got the syndicates arrested, becomes a long one but it is worth it, with Taiba’s hope fueling the journey.
On the last chapter of the book, Taiba and Regile have made it to Spike Maphosa’s house in Kabokweni, he offers them a bath, Taiba is excited to see him, and it is like a dream come true. While Taiba is still showering, Regile asks Spike to help them go free the other zama zama boys they have left back at Barberton, and Spike agrees. They finally head to Barberton the following day, in trucks accompanied by the police to rescue the trapped boys. What about Katekani if her father gets arrested? And her relationship with Regile since she had last agreed to be his girlfriend; will Regile go back to Swaziland with her to start a new life? The author had summed up the last chapter too short for any details, but you are welcome to connect the dots from the beginning of the first chapter until where the narrative ends.
The cover of the book, shows a young boy heading towards the mine, clouds suspended on a twilight, hence reflecting on the title of the book Dreaming of Light, giving it a yellow colour. Without having read the book, the title becomes connotative, at least to me, the young boy appears to be a mineworker, forced by poverty at home to drop out of school and find work in order to help contribute in the family income. This is common in South Africa, we have rich criminals and poor graduates, there is an oversupply of graduates with limited jobs offered or created, and this becomes another factor which demotivates people from studying further.
In reading the book, the first chapter introduces us to the characters in the story (I will disregard the school edition introduction, and review the novel manuscript in isolation). Regile Dhlamini is seeming to be our main character, the novel is told from a first person narrative. He is in a mine with other two boys from Mozambique, Taiba and Aires, whom were stolen from their poverty stricken home country in promise for a job only for a month with big amount of money. There is a master whom they work for, Papa Mavuso, in this illegal mining operation. Regile explains that Taiba and Aires appear to be 13 to 14 years old, while he is the oldest, 18 years old, the two boys can’t take the pressure anymore, they wish to be rescued by the police or the mighty ‘Spike Maphosa’. Taiba, unlike Aires, has an active voice in the novel, almost equivalent to the one of Regile, creating a conflict head-on! Whenever he hears gunshots from outside, he keeps hoping that perhaps it would be the police whom have come to rescue them, but then Regile laughs sarcastically at his wishes, and tells him that he should just give in, because nobody is ever coming to rescue them.
However, Regile himself has not given in either. He keeps wanting to experience life outside the mine, outside the corrupt operations and reporting to people like Papa Mavuso, he longs for simple things like watching the sunrise, spending time with his mother, and watching girls in their beautiful doll-like faces. He has to give up his soul into the mine, and stop wanting or having other wishes, because that is dangerous, he says.
The novel is set in a mine somewhere in Mpumalanga mountains, that is where a lot of characters interaction takes place. As the novel unfolds into chapters, we are introduced by Regile to other characters such as Faceman who works closely with Papa Mavuso in this zama zama syndicate, he is angry that Mavuso always brings children who cannot do the hard work, they just lazy around. Everyone is afraid of Faceman, he is violent. Takunda, Mahlori, Moreira, Juvenal, and Januario, are some of the men underground who does all the dirty mine work. Taiba challenges Regile’s character of being meh to everything that happens in the mine. He has submitted himself to the work, and forgot about everything, while Taiba hopes that the hero Spike Maphosa will someday come and rescue them. He is confident, hopeful, and fearless too. He always speaks up, and this always ends him in trouble, in the squashing fists of Faceman.
The book explores the theme of hope, it is more like a quest with Regile being the guide or the key map to the golden treasure ‘Spike Maphosa’. However, Regile’s character of being self-absorbed and wanting to act like a ‘man’ by not entertaining anything outside life underground puts the book at the risk of being uninteresting, but as you read chapter through chapter, you get to learn about the other side of him which makes him act in a caring and most concerned manner possible, even though he does not want to show it, his care for Taiba and Aires, and for Katekani, for example. Young foreign boys are picked from countries such as Swaziland, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe in promise for a better job with good salary, it becomes a different story when they get introduced to illegal mining operations, going months without pay, and working under extremely dangerous and harsh conditions under the earth.
Although most of these zama zama boys had given up their souls, their lives, to what now seem to be their new lives, being under the surface of the earth and breaking rocks forcing them to give them gold; Taiba has not. You see, Taiba is the light in the book, throughout the novel, he is confident and stays on hope that one day he will be free from all this darkness, that they all will be free, all these zama zama boys, including Regile too. He hopes that Spike Maphosa will come, or he will find him, and help them, free them from the entrapment.
True friendship without boundaries can be seen from Taiba and Aires, the way Taiba looks out for Aires, always taking the blame for him and wanting to break free with him, get in trouble to save both of them, is one of the evident themes also. Loneliness, melancholy, is what Regile on the other hand experiences. As much as he looks after everyone throughout the book, nobody cares about him, except Papa Mavuso, whom also only cares because Regile has been working for him for over four years, so he trusts him to take care of the new boys into the operation. He longs for simple things he had even forgot how they feel like, and look like, things like the smell of raindrops pattering on the ground, calming the dust and giving out a scent of nature; the smell of flowers and trees; a feeling you get when you have feelings for a girl and being shy to approach her; or being intimate… these are some of the things that have a created a void in himself.
Taiba’s hopes gets extremely high when he reads a newspaper about Spike whom it is written he is still out there, alive, former illegal mineworker too, now an artist. The escape of Taiba, helped by Katekani who is Papa Mavuso’s daughter, he is accompanied by Regile. Taiba has infected Regile with his well-wishing and dreams for the best at last. Their journey to Spike Maphosa, whom is now no longer a myth of a former illegal miner who once helped other zama zamas and got the syndicates arrested, becomes a long one but it is worth it, with Taiba’s hope fueling the journey.
On the last chapter of the book, Taiba and Regile have made it to Spike Maphosa’s house in Kabokweni, he offers them a bath, Taiba is excited to see him, and it is like a dream come true. While Taiba is still showering, Regile asks Spike to help them go free the other zama zama boys they have left back at Barberton, and Spike agrees. They finally head to Barberton the following day, in trucks accompanied by the police to rescue the trapped boys. What about Katekani if her father gets arrested? And her relationship with Regile since she had last agreed to be his girlfriend; will Regile go back to Swaziland with her to start a new life? The author had summed up the last chapter too short for any details, but you are welcome to connect the dots from the beginning of the first chapter until where the narrative ends.
August 4, 2014
"Dreaming of Light" is a mere 111 pages, but it’s richer than some novels twice or even three times that length. When I was nearly finished with the book, I read the brief author bio pasted within the front cover and was completely unsurprised to learn that Jayne Bauling is a well-known poet. The prose in Dreaming of Light is so simple, light, and beautiful that I knew no one except a poet could have spun those gossamer phrases. Fitting, then, that it was included on the 2014 IBBY Honour List for the quality of its writing.
The novel is narrated by an 18-year-old boy, a foreign zama zama from Swaziland (that itty, bitty, country just to the right of South Africa that people always seem to forget exists). Like the other illegal immigrants from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, as well as desperately poor South Africans eager for any work they can find, Regile Dlamini is more or less a slave, a disposable zama zama, known only by that derogative Zulu term used to describe the unfortunate men and boys who toil below the Earth’s surface in previously shuttered mines.
When I started this book, I assumed that it was set 40, 50, even 60 years ago during South Africa’s mining boom. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It seems that illegal mining has been on the rise in South Africa as recently as the past few years. An article in Bloomberg describes how an estimated 14,000 workers spend months at a time below the Earth’s surface, working to extract ever-more-difficult-to-find gold in mines that were long ago declared too dangerous to work in. This criminal industry generates $6 billion Rand a year, which explains why people are willing to break through the thick slabs of concrete covering mine entrances, force young men and boys recruited illegally from neighboring countries down into the shafts, and refuse to let them re-surface until months afterwards. As you can imagine, many of the workers die from being forced to live underground for weeks, either from exhaustion, poor nutrition, tunnel collapses, or carbon monoxide poisoning.
A substantial percentage of the workers toiling in the mines are children. Bauling’s conflicted hero Regile Dlamini is only 18, yet he has hardened far beyond his years. It is only with the arrival of a hopeful Mozambican boy, Taiba Nhaca, and his small friend, Aires, that the last traces of humanity are awakened within Regile.
Taiba waxes lyrical about the legendary Spike Maphosa, a former South African zama zama who allegedly escaped from the mine in which he was forced to work. Now Spike spends his time working to liberate other children from the same fate. Regile no longer believes that Spike Maphosa exists; indeed, neither do any of the other boys in the mine — except for Taiba. Eventually, Taibi wears through Regile’s tough exterior, reawakening the small kernel of kindness lodged deep within Regile’s largely hopeless existence.
Bauling has remarked that although her YA novels are quite dark, she suspects that they are helpful for children and teenagers facing many of the challenges discussed in her books.
The plot of "Dreaming of Light might" seem farfetched, exaggerated, blown out of proportion, but sadly it isn’t at all. It’s hard to imagine that level of desperation and greed unless you’ve seen it yourself — not that I really have; I’ve just come closer to observing it than some people, I suppose. One would think that by 2014, child trafficking for illegal and often fatal mine work wouldn’t be happening in South Africa, but it is. And perhaps most tragically, there doesn’t seem to be much compassion toward the illegal immigrants who flee even worse economic conditions in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, and elsewhere for a chance at something like prosperity in the relative powerhouse that is South Africa. Just have a look at some of those comments on the Bloomberg article. Racism and xenophobia, that. I remember that when I was in South Africa, people always warned me to be on the lookout for “dangerous Nigerians,” who were supposedly criminal by nature. (I bumped into one at the beach. He wanted my phone number.)
Back to the book. As I’ve said before, it’s beautifully written. Here are a couple of my favorite passages:
"Telling someone things about myself gives me a wrong feeling, as if some other person is using my voice, speaking through my mouth." (p. 14)
"As if we aren’t facing enough dangers here, forcing the angry earth to give us its gold." (p. 30)
"‘It’s a story like smoke, I think. No one can catch it because there’s nothing there. It changes all the time.’" (p. 31)
"Will he have turned mad, lost his mind? Become a creature of the darkness? He must belong to the earth after so long. Maybe he won’t want to come out. Won’t want to leave the mine." (p. 43)
I don’t want to give away the ending, but suffice it to say that a few tears may have been shed. I was so relieved on Regile’s behalf; I never wanted him to have to go back down into the mine, ever again.
"Dreaming of Light" is undoubtedly a dark story, not least because everything that is described in the book is actually happening in South Africa. This is one of those rare cases in which I would advise sticking with the recommended age, 12+. It’s almost universally adored here on Goodreads, and it is a quick, simple, moving — and ultimately, hopeful — read. Jayne Bauling has a newfound admirer in me. I hope to read many more of her YA novels, starting with E Eights and Stepping Solo.
The novel is narrated by an 18-year-old boy, a foreign zama zama from Swaziland (that itty, bitty, country just to the right of South Africa that people always seem to forget exists). Like the other illegal immigrants from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, as well as desperately poor South Africans eager for any work they can find, Regile Dlamini is more or less a slave, a disposable zama zama, known only by that derogative Zulu term used to describe the unfortunate men and boys who toil below the Earth’s surface in previously shuttered mines.
When I started this book, I assumed that it was set 40, 50, even 60 years ago during South Africa’s mining boom. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It seems that illegal mining has been on the rise in South Africa as recently as the past few years. An article in Bloomberg describes how an estimated 14,000 workers spend months at a time below the Earth’s surface, working to extract ever-more-difficult-to-find gold in mines that were long ago declared too dangerous to work in. This criminal industry generates $6 billion Rand a year, which explains why people are willing to break through the thick slabs of concrete covering mine entrances, force young men and boys recruited illegally from neighboring countries down into the shafts, and refuse to let them re-surface until months afterwards. As you can imagine, many of the workers die from being forced to live underground for weeks, either from exhaustion, poor nutrition, tunnel collapses, or carbon monoxide poisoning.
A substantial percentage of the workers toiling in the mines are children. Bauling’s conflicted hero Regile Dlamini is only 18, yet he has hardened far beyond his years. It is only with the arrival of a hopeful Mozambican boy, Taiba Nhaca, and his small friend, Aires, that the last traces of humanity are awakened within Regile.
Taiba waxes lyrical about the legendary Spike Maphosa, a former South African zama zama who allegedly escaped from the mine in which he was forced to work. Now Spike spends his time working to liberate other children from the same fate. Regile no longer believes that Spike Maphosa exists; indeed, neither do any of the other boys in the mine — except for Taiba. Eventually, Taibi wears through Regile’s tough exterior, reawakening the small kernel of kindness lodged deep within Regile’s largely hopeless existence.
Bauling has remarked that although her YA novels are quite dark, she suspects that they are helpful for children and teenagers facing many of the challenges discussed in her books.
The plot of "Dreaming of Light might" seem farfetched, exaggerated, blown out of proportion, but sadly it isn’t at all. It’s hard to imagine that level of desperation and greed unless you’ve seen it yourself — not that I really have; I’ve just come closer to observing it than some people, I suppose. One would think that by 2014, child trafficking for illegal and often fatal mine work wouldn’t be happening in South Africa, but it is. And perhaps most tragically, there doesn’t seem to be much compassion toward the illegal immigrants who flee even worse economic conditions in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, and elsewhere for a chance at something like prosperity in the relative powerhouse that is South Africa. Just have a look at some of those comments on the Bloomberg article. Racism and xenophobia, that. I remember that when I was in South Africa, people always warned me to be on the lookout for “dangerous Nigerians,” who were supposedly criminal by nature. (I bumped into one at the beach. He wanted my phone number.)
Back to the book. As I’ve said before, it’s beautifully written. Here are a couple of my favorite passages:
"Telling someone things about myself gives me a wrong feeling, as if some other person is using my voice, speaking through my mouth." (p. 14)
"As if we aren’t facing enough dangers here, forcing the angry earth to give us its gold." (p. 30)
"‘It’s a story like smoke, I think. No one can catch it because there’s nothing there. It changes all the time.’" (p. 31)
"Will he have turned mad, lost his mind? Become a creature of the darkness? He must belong to the earth after so long. Maybe he won’t want to come out. Won’t want to leave the mine." (p. 43)
I don’t want to give away the ending, but suffice it to say that a few tears may have been shed. I was so relieved on Regile’s behalf; I never wanted him to have to go back down into the mine, ever again.
"Dreaming of Light" is undoubtedly a dark story, not least because everything that is described in the book is actually happening in South Africa. This is one of those rare cases in which I would advise sticking with the recommended age, 12+. It’s almost universally adored here on Goodreads, and it is a quick, simple, moving — and ultimately, hopeful — read. Jayne Bauling has a newfound admirer in me. I hope to read many more of her YA novels, starting with E Eights and Stepping Solo.
December 24, 2013
This is a story of young boys trafficked for illegal mining activities. Regile a Swazi boy has moved slightly up the ranks and taking care of newbies has lost all hope and dreams for a proper life above ground, even with his freedom granted he returns back underground. Until he meets Taiba who is full if believe that he will be rescued from this life by the legendary Spike Maphosa, who was also a Zama Zama who escaped the horror of underground life. Regile and Taiba travel for days to find Spike, who is their hope for a new life.
February 9, 2021
A glimpse into the violent, treacherous and unforgiving world of illegal mining, Dreaming of Light draws the reader into South Africa's criminal underbelly, a part we'd rather have hidden from us. Bauling subtly and effectively points out that child labour, xenophobia and human trafficking are deplorable crimes which are perpetuated by our apathy towards the victims of such atrocities. Through Regile's point of view, we watch a group of boys slowly have their humanity stripped from them in the unfathomably deep mines of Barberton. Their only hope for escape seems to be a free ex-illegal miner named Spike, who takes on an almost mythical, godlike role in the novel. It is a story of resilience, of compassion and belief as well as pain, abuse and loss of innocence. Bauling does well to represent a group of people who are silenced and in need of hope and light.
My only problem with this novel is that the ending is too clean, too rushed and unrealistic, since we were given the impression that the characters are always under threat.
My only problem with this novel is that the ending is too clean, too rushed and unrealistic, since we were given the impression that the characters are always under threat.
September 11, 2018
It is a good book for those who are still at school
Read
August 20, 2021hi i think the ending could of been better like what happend to papa Mavuso where did he go and what about Regile's mom and sister
June 5, 2018
2.75 stars
October 24, 2019
Its so entertaining
Read
September 12, 20206
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2024
So um I read this book for school and it was really sad....it was well written just very sad :(
April 24, 2024
Best story that describes life
Want to read
March 23, 2018read
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews