In 2000, at only 12 years old, I distinctly remember the heart-rending tropical Cyclone Leon-Eline being reported in the media. Not only did this storm lead to the famous Mozambican girl, Rosita, being born in a tree, but it was also a pivotal moment in an African stallion’s life.
Combining his degree in journalism with a master’s degree in environmental science, David Bristow’s skilful literary architecture leads the reader through a heart-warming animal “biography”, Running Wild – The Story of Zulu, an African Stallion.
With tales as numerous as the people who narrate them, 22 short yet engaging chapters will enchant you with the story of Zulu, the stallion which lived on the Mashatu Game Reserve.
Bristow’s imaginative writing style is evident in his first chapter as he describes the storm and the events that lead up to the horses of Mashatu breaking out of their enclosure and roaming wild for days before returning.
Zulu was the only horse that did not return, thought to be lost to the bushveld, and it is only four years after this storm that Zulu is discovered among a herd of wild zebra. It is an art to use imagination, humour and environmental knowledge as acutely as Bristow does.
Having grown up in South Africa with a taste of the highveld, Bristow’s writing brought back vivid childhood memories and his tasteful humour kept a smile on my face as I turned every page.
He talks about how “every child and his dog that played in the veld came home with thorns in their feet and their clothes peppered with blackjacks; the prickly seeds will stick to your clothes like snotballs to your finger”.
In the chapter, Return to Karl Plaas, he speaks of how many girls go through a “horsey phase” which tends to wear thin after puberty as boys replace horses in the social milieu. Bristow notes that some girls, however, find a special relationship with a horse or a pony and that first love – like all first loves – lingers.
Just like this lingering love, you will fall in love with Bristow’s writing style and you will be running wildly into the pages of this book. – Sarah Cohen