You Never Really Know is a well written, literary novel by John Hunt. The reader moves from chapter to chapter, wondering if the book is a political thriller, a romantic tragedy, a farce? You Never Really Know.
We follow the story of Cappuccino, who was born in, and raised by all the staff at the President’s six-acre unofficial residence. The staff all work for CBC – Chief Boss Commander (aka the President), whose raucous laugh Ha Ha Ha Ha, leaves one to wonder who this character is modelled on. Cappuccino suffers from agoraphobia and has never travelled further than the bounds of the residence. His innocence and naivety are the natural result of this. Google is his friend and teacher.
Cappuccino is the residence’s laundryman come barista, who is always on duty when CBC is in residence. He is a witness, a confidante, and an amateur storyteller whose naivety and lack of worldliness is in sharp contrast to Duku, a handicapped beggar who sets up his home outside the back gate of the residence.
There are several disturbing events in the book, as Cappuccino slowly comes to the realisation of what and who the evil really is. The tight knit community of staff that have raised him, cannot save each other from the corruption that surrounds them, but as a team they care for each other.
By the end of the story, Cappuccino rewrites himself as the hero of the day. But then, do we really know this to be so? Which country in Africa is the book set in? It’s not stated, as the brush strokes represent many people and places. You are left with a lot to think about.
I found the book intriguing, and frequently wondered where it was going. But then as the book title says: You Never Actually Know.
Other books by the same author: The Space Between the Space Between, The Boy Who Could Keep a Swan in his Head, The Art of the Idea: And How to Change Your Life. He has also written TV Scripts and plays; Vid Alex and Piano Man are two examples of his work.
John Hunt was born in Zambia in 1954. He went to school in the United Kingdom and at Park Town Boy’s High in Johannesburg. In 1983 he founded TBWA / Hunt / Lascaris Advertising Agency. He is currently the Worldwide Creative Chair of the advertising agency TBWA. The author lives and works in Johannesburg.
You Never Really Know by John Hunt is published by Penguin Random House UK – 2021. ISBN: 978-1-41521-061-1 - Christine E. Hann
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