‘Decima is the Story of Two Mothers’: Interview with Eben Venter
Feature by Riley Hlatshwayo, Interview by Thando Mavuso
Eben Venter’s Decima is a plea and a deeply personal reflection woven into one seamless narrative. It is a novel that blends autofiction, natural science, and history, telling the story of a black rhinoceros matriarch named Decima, and those whose lives intersect with hers—poachers, researchers, environmentalists, and traders in the illicit rhino horn industry. At the same time, it is a meditation on loss, as the narrator (who is sometimes the author himself) grapples with his own mother’s aging and fragility.
We sat down with Eben Venter at our Barbican store to discuss the book, the work that went into creating this gargantuan offering, as well as what the future has in store for him and his readers.
Tell us about Decima.
Eben Venter: The book is set in the Eastern Cape, but the net expands much wider because some parts occur in Belgium, Kenya, Hong Kong, and Australia. It is a story that encompasses many places and features many people’s narratives.
The author was born in the Eastern Cape, studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, and holds the public library in high regard as it used to be the one space he could go to read and do research earlier in his career. It is a place that saw some of his work being birthed and nurtured. He has written numerous award-winning books, Decima being his twelfth work of fiction and his most environmentally-driven project yet. He sees it as a call upon everyone to look after the environment, especially the black rhinoceros—the most threatened species in the rhino family. It is what inspired him to give prominence to an animal enough to anthropomorphise it and give it sentience.
You have been writing for almost two decades now. How has that experience been?
EV: In the beginning, I had a vegetarian cafe in Melbourne and could only take three months off work. I wrote a book in that three months. Decima took me three and a half years to finish. It was a big shift and undertaking because of the research, and the meticulousness that goes into writing a ‘book art’ book. I always try to be innovative in writing form and choosing subject matter. It requires discipline, and the discipline comes from sitting down and getting the work done.
His research led him to places like the rhino sanctuary in Mbombela, and what seemed like a headquarters for the rhino poaching industry in Hazyview. He spoke with people, read both historical archives and academic writing to gain insight on how this magnificent creature has been treated over the years.
It is why he opted for the autofiction literary device in telling this story, as opposed to writing it academically. He wanted to make it accessible to everyone.
EV: Interestingly merging hard research and storytelling, I wanted to tell a story that’s different to other crime novels about rhino poaching. It is hard to write about the black rhinoceros without mentioning poaching (the novel features two poachers), but I wanted to remove the veil behind this illicit industry, to question and expose those pulling the strings.
The author says he gave Decima sentience and a voice to show the reader that she is a creature with highly developed senses, able to remember and pass on information from her mother to her calf and the rest of her crash. ‘I wanted the readers to internalise Decima’s experiences,’ he added. That forced readers to confront uncomfortable truths—about conservation, exploitation, and the stark disparities of power and survival. It does not shy away from the harsh realities of poaching, but instead of simplifying the issue, the author complicates it, peeling back layers of desperation, power, and history. Figures like King Leopold of Belgium and Theodore Roosevelt loom over the narrative as grander villains than the impoverished men at the bottom of the poaching hierarchy. And through it all, there is Decima, a magnificent creature standing tall, a symbol of endurance and vulnerability. Her life is rendered with dignity and awareness, her maternal instincts and survival tethered to the unforgiving landscape and human forces around her.
Which part of the writing process was difficult for you?
EV: I enjoyed working on this book because, as I discovered more and more about rhinos, poachers, and the Chinese traditional medicine men in Hong Kong who still have a 17th century recipe using ground rhino horns, I was fascinated by how all these threads lead right back to this creature.
My mother was in the last years of her life at the time when I was writing this. We were very close; so I included her in the story, weaving her life and experiences into this rhino story. My editor jokingly said that [Decima] is the story of two mothers: the narrator’s mother and Decima herself, mothering her calf.
In Decima, Eben Venter has provided readers with a novel that lingers—thought-provoking, emotionally charged, and urgent in its message. He has crafted exactly the right vehicle to tell this story, one that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Buy the novel at our Linden and Barbican stores, or online.