Finding the Form with Sue Goldswain

“The Getaway” began as a chapter in my novel, White Lies, that I removed in one of the later drafts as it seemed like an indulgence, and not pertinent to the central story. Once I started working on it as short fiction, it developed a life of its own, with completely different characters and settings. 

While “The Getaway” is not in any sense my story, it also is, being rooted in the South Africa of my lived experience. I spent my growing years and early adulthood in the staggering beauty of that land, as well as living under the brutal spectre of Apartheid. I grew up reading novels and short fiction by authors that focused on the human misery in my country, and what happened to those courageous enough to fight it. As a result of this experience, I’m drawn to write stories that take place in repressive regimes. In “The Getaway”, I wanted to capture the tension between the Afrikaner and English speakers by placing that complexity in Cara’s family, in the form of her father’s Afrikaner/Dutch forebears, and her English-speaking mother. Another theme that emerges in my writing is the immigrant experience, especially those who feel compelled to leave their country of origin, and what happens to their sense of home. As well, my interest in trauma and its many faces in recovery continues to inform my exploration of characters, and their experiences.