A WESTBURY author, who was born in South Africa, has just released her first book, ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’, that describes how the impact of apartheid rav- aged her home country.
Louis Stradling recently moved to Westbury and has lived and worked in Wiltshire for almost 25 years.
Louis said, “I grew up in the Elands River Valley, Eastern Cape, South Africa, and in many ways, I had a magical childhood where I had freedom to be a child against the back- drop of apartheid. My father and mother were British ex-pats who were appalled by apartheid.
“While working in Uitenhage after enrolling at university and thinking about my future, I became aware of gunshots and wounded and screaming people streaming past the shop where I worked. That was the day of those terrible killings in Langa, known as the 1985 Langa massacre.
“Since then, Langa has niggled and nudged at me for over 30 years. Now living in the shadow of the White Horse in Westbury, I finally feel able to tell this story. As I walk and roam through Wiltshire, even here in the lush green countryside, I hear them beg me to tell their story.”
Cloud Cuckoo Land is about a young Xhosa man, Winston, who is attempting to re- build his life in the township of Langa. Kobus Jonker is his white counterpart who cannot free himself from the yoke of apartheid. The two men share a catastrophe that threatens to destroy them both. The story explodes onto the international stage, starting the slow death knell of white rule and apartheid.
Louis added, “I’m pleased to have finally told the Langa story.”
The book can be purchased for £9.99 on- line at retailers such as Amazon or direct from Pegausus Publishers at https://pegasuspublishers.com/books/louise-stradling/cloud-cuckoo-land
