In the second instalment in our new series featuring Portfolio establishment owners who manage to have a whole separate career while operating a guest house, we introduce Joko Sander of
La Bonne Auberge in Somerset West, who has found the time and energy to write and publish a book –
Der Schatten des Fotografen (The Shadow of the Photographer).
Hi Joko – please tell us more about your book. First of all, is it a fact or fiction?
It is fiction, based on the real & dramatic life of my great uncle
Briefly, what is it about?
This is a story about love, jealousy, hate and betrayal, the magic of Cuban cigars, the icy coldness in the Texas desert, talent scouts for the Catholic Church and the emerging record industry. It is also a story about the odour of love, cigars and buns. (The official synopsis is at the end of this interview)
When did you start writing it?
I started 6 years ago with the research in the USA
When was it published?
February 2011 - the first launch and reading took place at ASARA Wine Estate & Hotel in April 2011. Hans Werner Bussmann, General Consul of Germany, was one of our guests
Where can readers buy a copy?
In any bookstore, also all internet-bookstores like Amazon. The novel is also available as an ebook for download, e.g. in the Apple Ibook-store
Will it be translated into English?
Yes! Spanish too! The novel will also be transformed into a movie
How did you find time to write a book while running a guest house?
During the quiet SA winter seasons and after normal working hours, whatever this means
Latest news on the book?
I just came back from a reading-tour throughout Germany, having launched the book in six different cities and a talkshow on a German TV Channel. I also featured in some interviews with newspapers and radio stations.
If you like, you can watch a book-trailer below: It is in German only, sorry, but you will understand!
The official synopsis:
America early in the 20th Century: a crazy Bischop races his Pierce Arrow through Texas. For Pancho Villa, the bandit, a concert takes place somewhere in the desert. Meanwhile General Pershing (years later a guided missile was named after him) is searching for Pancho. A blind singer is losing his job in a brothel. He sings for God and a record label discovers him. A dead man hangs in the tower of Dallas Cathedral. Joseph Keller, a young German, is in the kick of it. He left Germany because of a women and is searching for God. He travels via Rotterdam and New York to the Catholic seminary in St. Louis. After his ordination Joseph is sent to Texas. He looks after German immigrants and Mexican farmworkers near the Mexican border.
The farmers believe the young priest takes too much care of the Mexicans and the workers are soon stopped from attending his services. Jealous members of the parish betray Joseph to the KuKluxKlan who tar and feather him and threaten to kill him. Badly injured, Joseph escapes to the mountains, where two ladies await his arrival...
Book Trailer
Stay at La Bonne Auberge
La Bonne Auberge is a charming 1903 Cape Dutch Manor House set in beautiful gardens in the heart of Somerset West in the Cape Winelands with spectacular views of the mountains. Friendly personal service. Stylish air-conditioned bedrooms include DSTV, WiFi, cotton linen, heater, fridge and have their own entrance from a private patio or terrace.
