21 Days

When the South African president declares a 21-day lockdown in response to COVID-19, the residents of one Johannesburg suburb are forced to rethink their daily lives. The northern suburb of Twinstreams takes its name from the meeting of two streams, and the water also divides the neighbourhood by class. On one bank, an immigrant family from Lesotho lives in an informal settlement, hoping for a better future that always seems just out of reach. Thabo, the family's provider, wants nothing more than to give them a decent life, but the lockdown pushes him toward choices he never imagined.

Across the stream, a politically progressive middle-class household has settled into a leafy, quiet corner of the city after leaving Zimbabwe. They want security and calm, yet their commitment to social justice sits uneasily with that comfortable life. Their domestic worker, who has South African roots but was born and raised in Zimbabwe, followed them when they relocated. Meanwhile, a young medical student from a wealthy background, mocked by his friends for his privilege, notices that the alcohol ban has created a market. He drives the suburban streets selling liquor at a steep markup. A noisy congregation that gathers by the water every Sunday morning adds to the local rhythm.

The novel follows these characters as they adjust to the restrictions and to one another, and as their paths gradually converge. It builds toward a twist near the end.