How desperate are you for power? .... Sydney Sheldon's Bloodline will answer some of your questions

 

Let's read.... At the Savoy municipal library

 

IF you follow me on social media, you will know by now that I am a huge fan of Sydney Sheldon.

 I was introduced to him at a very young age. Back then, my father had several of his titles in our home Library.

Pic

Pic from the internet: Author of Bloodline, Sydney Sheldon

Over the years, I have become a collector of his books. I think I have about 12 of his titles now.

 However, his books were written years ago. He died in 2007

Though not around his stories are relevant in our lives today.

  Hence every month for the rest of this year, we will feature a title from him. He is one of the greatest writers /storytellers of all time.

 His work should be known by generations.

Pic from internet: Sydney Sheldon's title collection

So my Sheldon pick for this month is the Book Title Blood Line. This is to go with the theme of the slot, to encourage reading amongst us Africans and every story lover.

 

 William Collins Sons Co Ltd first published it in the Great Britain in 1978 then later by Pan books Ltd in 1979.

Reading this book, purchased at one of the second hand book sellers in Alexandra Township, South

Africa reminds me of the CCTV drama, Ifa lakwa Mthethwa ( The inheritance of the Mthethwa’s).

caption: screengrab from google of ifalakwa Mthetwa

The Zulu drama was about the battle for the inheritance of  Mthethwa family.  It is a book that makes you turn  pages as there are so many similarities that one can relate to.

 

 The story is mainly written from the powerful Jewish family battle of money, power, ambition, lust, danger and death.

 

The conspiracy of someone wanting to kill Elizabeth Roffe, a young intelligent woman.

 

Whom overnight becomes the richest girl in the world after someone killed his rich and powerful father.

Click, Click…… Doesn’t this line reminds you of the South African Zulu drama, Hlalakwabafileyo?

Let’s pause for a second on Blood line and reflect on Hlalakwabafileyo for a moment.

Plotted in the 80s the drama was a bout a Soweto supermarket owner whose son, Zuzumuzi was so desperate to take on inheritance that he at some stage planned to kill him.

 

 His wife (had also found out that he had a mistress in Hillbrow whom he fathered a son.

 

 To add more to the story, the family was given a wrong body to bury.

 

Anyway,  back to  our book and its author, Sydney Sheldon’s writing is timeless and cut across everyone.

 

 

 In this story, he zooms in on a rich Jewish family that owns a drug company that has enjoyed success in three continents.

 

Thanks to the rags to rich story of the founder Samuel Roffe. His desperate plea to marry a beautiful rich girl leads him to discover   an antitoxin that saves a desperate dying Jewish man.

The background set up of the story is in the Jewish Community of Krafow ghetto.

 In the book, you are introduced to Samuel, a son of a peddler and a nobody in the community that defines you by what your family owns.

 

 His passion for helping people leads him to help a laboratory, Dr Wal’s who has a beautiful and supportive daughter but the snobbish mother hates him.

She hates him even more when he learns that the low class no body whose father’s ambition is to own to two broken down horses to pull carts through the dirty crowded streets of the Krakow ghetto.

 

 The wife influenced his daughter and the Dr to have nothing to do with the daughter. Terernia was then arranged to be married to a rich   old Jewish Rabbi.

(Gaz’lam Kethiwe)

Pause a minute South Africans, doesn’t this remind you of the Bomb Production drama, Gaz’lam… Khethiwe and S”fiso situation?

Anyway, Terenia was the only supportive person, she protested the marriage to the Rabbi so much that her parents had to call Samuel Roffe and give him six months to come up with a plan that will ensure their girl will be financially and cared for  when they are married.

 

He was banned from Dr Wal’s laboratory so this plan was made so that Terenia, who was seen as a foolish young girl could see that Samuel who had gone back to peddling could not afford her.

 

But Sam with little time helps his father with the family business of peddling and in the evening goes to a makeshift laboratory to try get concoction that  will free him from his poverty state.

 Even when he has some, ignorant people born into wealth are not willing to give him any chance to invest in his business venture.

 

 Throughout the six months, Terernia becomes his only confidant thanks to the terms and conditions of the six months grace period that allowed him to see Terernia at least three times a week. While trying to come up with a solid running business before their union.

 

She was supportive, so much that she even suggested that they eloped.

 

Anyway, with the clock ticking, he was saved by a friend who had a bedridden father. He had a chocking cough from one of the epidemics that frequented the crowded Jewish ghettos.

 

Alexandra township is a picture of the over crowded Jewish ghetto pic from the internet

Now his friend was going to trade an old horse for a cart, something that Samuel  had then and could even build another one from scratch. The family was so desperate that they didn’t mind him trying his antitoxin on the dying man.

Miraculously, the man recovered and word of mouth spread out. More people wanted the syrup Sam himself couldn’t keep up with the demand. People were getting healed.

For his dowry, the Dr gave Samuel six horses and a small-equipped laboratory of his own.

 

 His business grew to a point that he also mixed herbs and even people who could not afford the medication were treated.

 

 Terenia, believed medication was to cure people.

 But generation’s later, the legacy was targeted by greedy power hungry people who didn’t mind blackmailing and killing to get what they wanted.

 

So many similarities with how South Africa almost lost its freedom. You will enjoy this read!