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THE Cuban music in the restaurant takes a back seat to the author's explanation of how the title and cover of his novel, with the unusual title of Apetown, came about. Local writer, Sven Eick, explains to journalists that his book was untitled even after the publishers and editors at Human & Rousseau proof-read and edited it.

"The title came to me one day when I re-read a section where a bergie refers to Cape Town as 'Apetown' and I thought it would make a good title."

Despite the launch of the book in a Cuban restaurant and freedom fighter, Che Guevara's face on the cover, the book is not a rebellious journey suitable for teenagers.

Sven gives an overview of his book: "Lars thinks he's found a fool proof, virtually legal plan to earn money from pool clubs without having to do much work.

But what starts out as a simple plan soon puts him on the wrong side of Costas, a Greek club owner, whose wrong side you just don't want to be on, and a man who happens to have a special plan of his own.

"Hampered by a single digit bank balance, an unpronounceable name and a habitually dysfunctional and distant family, Lars must now rely on his friends Frankie (an ex-SADF soldier with homicidal tendencies), Croccy (a dope-addled Australian who hasn't taken his shoes off since he was eighteen) and Marvin (an itinerant barman who rarely gets out of bed) to help him out of the mess."

He explains further that with time running out, Lars sets out to appease Costas. To succeed he'll need Croccy to keep his boots on, Marvin to stay sober and Frankie to avoid killing anyone unless it's absolutely necessary.

And if Lars survives, he may finally convince his on-off girlfriend Nadine to abandon her attempts to drag him kicking and screaming up the slopes of Cape Town's class pyramid.

The book addresses the timeless themes of love, betrayal, death, and incurable stupidity and will take you on an edgy, unforgettable romp through the clubs, back-streets and intricate social tangles of a modern South African postcard paradise.

John van de Ruit, the bestselling author of Spud, described Sven's book as: "Acutely observed and painfully honest.

Apetown is the conscience of South Africa's twenty-something cut-and-run generation."

Sven was born in Johannesburg in 1977. His unusual name was the result of his paternal grandfather's German Jewish roots combined with the semantic sensitivities of his Afrikaans mother.

Sven matriculated in 1995 from Crawford College in Johannesburg. The following year he moved to Cape Town to study at UCT.

In 2002 he temporarily abandoned his sustained drive and applied to work for a Cruise Line.

During his extended vacation periods he began writing full length fiction pieces, a pursuit which culminated in the completion of The Curse of the Lazarus Bones, a novel for young adults, in 2003.

During 2003 two pieces of his writing were published in that year's Laugh It Off Annual.

Writing under his pseudonym he also won a Waterman pen for best letter written to SL magazine, which he subsequently never received, he adds with a smile.

Once he had realised the direction of his true calling, Sven resigned from his exciting shipboard career and set about writing in earnest.

He says although he arrived in Cape Town as an 18-year-old and lived the first few years as an outsider, Apetown is not autobio-graphical. The characters are based on many different characters and none of the events are real.

"The impressions, feelings and experiences I had all just came together in a coherent way. Some days I feel the book wrote itself," he says.

Sven plans to study Honours in Psychology in 2008, whilst continuing his writing.

In his spare time he plays guitar, writes newsletters which reflect his lifelong allegiance to the paranoid school of Sociology, and watches the films of Terrence Mallick.

He hopes to hone his skills in graphic arts within the next ten years, and has a future in professional rugby planned thereafter.

He says if Apetown is the literary hit that he hopes it will be, that he will take the characters further in a sequal.

But this author likes to keep all options open: On his computer are 11 different folders with story ideas - some has as much as 40 000 words in them.

"I wrote a memoir of my life on the cruise ship, just penned down monthly reports that I e-mailed to friends over the months and people said they enjoyed the humour so much, that I decided to sow it all together and maybe it can be a book on its own."

His favourite South African writer is Herman Charles Bosman, who Sven believes brings South African life to life in a masterful way and he also enjoyed Mark Behr's book Embrace.

"Douglas Adams is also a big inspiration to me. My aim is to become a full-time novelist and I have an idea about a thriller set in 17th century Munich that I hope will put me on the international writing arena," Sven says.

Before we all part, journalists checking whether they missed any details, he laughs and says what the future holds for him as an author is unknown, but the one thing that he is sure about, is that psychology will not be a career he will embark on.

He will only use his knowledge as background to build characters for his books.

Apetown, Sven Eick, Human & Rousseau, R120, is available at leading bookstores.

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