Ronnie Kasrils has just received the Alan Paton Award for his recent book, The Unlikely Secret Agent. He shares here with Amandla! his experience and the process of writing the novel, and expresses himself on the tragedy of losing his life partner, Eleanor.

I had always encouraged Eleanor to write her remarkable story. She was modest and unassuming, however, and did not do so. John Le Carré, whom we met, referred to Eleanor in an endorsement of the book as ‘being endowed by nature with all the clandestine skills’ – although those were learnt and acquired in struggle. With her unfortunate death from natural causes at the end of 2009, I felt I just had to produce the narrative. Within three months, I began to put pen to paper – so to speak – and began rolling out the tale on my computer. I was like a man possessed. It was with love and respect for her. I wrote the book in three months. Within another two months it was published. It is both a political thriller and a love story. My family and I have been gratified at the impact it has made. It has already sold many thousands of copies in South Africa and internationally, culminating in my receiving the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award for non-fiction. At the award event I dedicated the prize to Eleanor, since it is her book. I said I was her ‘ghost writer’.
I have spoken about the book at about twenty events around the country and at least a dozen in England, Scotland and Ireland. One such event was at London’s Marxist Festival and another at the South African High Commission. The Irish Communist Party’s Connolly Bookstore organised a launch in Dublin. Sinn Fein (owing to Eleanor and my support for Irish Republicanism) arranged several events throughout Ireland. The Scots in particular held several events with one in Eleanor’s birthplace near Glasgow. Scots Anti-Apartheid termed her ‘Scotland’s finest export to South Africa’, owing to the fact that she was born there. She arrived in Durban as an infant with her working-class parents. George Galloway has referred to Eleanor as ‘made from the finest Scottish girders’. The US journal Marxism Today is producing an American edition of the book and I have had several enquiries concerning film rights. It would be amazing if a movie of the book was made. If I may fantasise, I think of someone like Hilary Swank playing Eleanor!

In short, the book is a testament and tribute to Eleanor. That is what drove me to write it. I wanted people to understand who she was and what she had done. I wanted South Africans and the international community to realise what our people are capable of and how the ordinary, average person – women in particular – possess enormous potential.

A question arose at the London Marxist Festival: ‘From where do revolutionaries acquire courage?’ The answer is simple: through serving the just cause of human liberation.

The death of Eleanor has been the severest blow in my life and the most difficult shock to contend with. We had been together for 48 years and enjoyed the privilege of a happy and positive relationship – reinforced by comradeship in struggle and the many dangers, setbacks and triumphs we shared. She was my friend, comrade and partner – in every sense of those words. It is as though half of me had been cut away. All who love and lose experience such a void. But that’s life and the necessity of contending with the inevitability of death. One has to be philosophical. Time is a healer and being busy and active is the best antidote for the pain. One derives comfort and strength from family, friends and comrades –  from a life well lived – her meaningful life. The memories of our life together help me maintain a positive attitude. Writing the book was the best therapy of all. When I read and re-read it … it’s as though she is present and I re-live those times. I want to write a sequel about her contribution from exile – because that was courageous and remarkable too. She was the family bread-winner and found time to engage in clandestine work from exile. It’s important not to mope and remain depressed and nostalgic – but to keep active and busy, for life must go on and one must not live in the past but look ahead. She would have expected that of me as I would of her – had I died first. Of course one must always sustain the memories of those we have loved. Our relationship and her respect and kindness for people constantly remind me to remain true to our shared values. In this way she continues to teach me. Her example illuminates the way ahead for me.