Coconut

Coconut by Kopano Matlwa is a novel about two black girls growing up in the white suburbs of contemporary Johannesburg, South Africa, who struggle to find themselves in a confusing and oppressive system of class, race, and gender. The protagonists, rich and pampered Ofilwe and sassy and spunky Fikile, struggle to make it in a world that doesn't want them on top, trying to hang on to their identities as they navigate the tumultuous world of the big city.

Coconut is named after the fruit, which is black on the outside and white on the inside. This symbol speaks to larger themes in the book – namely, the way that young black Africans seeking success are often forced to whitewash themselves in order to be accepted by white society. This is the case for both characters in the novel, who struggle to hang on to their identities in contrasting ways as they come of age in South Africa just after Apartheid.

Ofilwe was born into a privileged family in the suburbs of Johannesburg. She is from a nouveau riche class of black South Africans who live in the predominantly white suburbs, something that would never have been accepted under Apartheid. However, Ofilwe struggles with her own idea of her blackness. She mostly takes her privilege for granted, not recognizing the way her life differs from other people in her country. Similarly, Ofilwe lacks any connection to her black heritage. In order to fit in among rich white South Africans, Ofilwe and her family discarded their black history and culture to feel more comfortable in their wealth. Ofilwe, as such, is essentially cultureless – she isn't truly a part of the white culture but has also lost her attachment to her blackness



Ofilwe struggles with a strong desire to be white. Though she has the money and status of white girls, she still regularly faces discrimination and persecution at the hands of her neighbors and classmates. All Ofilwe wants is to be accepted into white society, but at every step, she is reminded of what she is – a minority group whose family has found their way into the upper echelons of society. This leaves her alienated from those around her, especially other black Africans, who see her as uppity, cultureless, and ignorant.

Fikile is the opposite of Ofilwe. Fikile, who typically goes by Fix, is not a rich girl. She lives in the townships and has had a difficult life, caring for herself and her brother and struggling to make ends meet. Fikile is sassy and stylish but still yearns for the kind of comfort that Ofilwe has. Fikile wants to live the same life as Ofilwe and privileged white people in Johannesburg because she is sick of living in poverty. At the same time, though, Fikile realizes that the price of wealth is a loss of identity – she struggles between a desire for the comforts of white wealth and pride in herself and her heritage.

Ultimately, both girls are struggling with the same problem; they are forced to confront the ways that whiteness has permeated into their thoughts, their view of self, and the way they want to live in the world. Both girls are dissatisfied with the “equality” they were promised after Apartheid; for people like Fikile, poverty is still the norm even if freedom is an option. On the other side of the coin, Ofilwe's experience proves that even with wealth, discrimination is still a reality for young black people in South Africa.



South African author and doctor Kopano Matlwa has written two novels. Coconut, her debut novel, deals with issues of colonialism, race, and class. The novel won a European Literary Union Award in 2006, and a Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2010. Matlwa is also the author of Spilt Milk, which follows the “Born Free” generation of South Africans, or those who came of age after Apartheid. Matlwa, who finished Coconut while she was working toward her medical degree, has frequently given interviews on her own experience coming of age under President Nelson Mandela, and seeing both the hope and the possibility for further corruption in her government.