how tsotsi was born

Opening to page 21 of last Saturday's UK Guardian was quite a treat. The paper published author Athol Fugard's original notes that led to the writing of the book that now gets the big film treatment in Tsotsi. And it was timely too, coming right after Tsotsi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film at the 78th Academy Awards barely a week before.

To see the birth of a character, a novelistic and cinematic character, to see the birth of a story, someone else's story, a great author's one for that matter, there's something beautiful about it.

Here's an excerpt:

"The idea for a story - criminal: completely shrouded in darkness. At a moment - a stab of light and pain. This followed, developed, in the span of a short time leads to the full Christian experience after a meeting with a priest in an empty church....

Story (contd) - The kid is leader of a gang. Four members including him. The "change" as a positive force, outside of himself. Resisted...

The baby in the shoebox: it was small, and black, and older than anything he had ever seen in his life. Its face, lined and wrinkled. Left by a young girl, in a shoebox in the ruined house where he had crawled, wounded....

Looking for milk for the baby: "Mama, have you any milk?" Takes her back and forces her to feed the child."

Intrigued? Read it in full here.