Teddy's take on a few books

Since arriving here I’ve encountered tons and tons of great books! I want to share some of these here for anyone who might be interested.

Each one is a page-turner and is culturally informative regarding South Africa.

First People of the Cape; Alan Mountain - Mountain describes in detail the cultures and lifestyles of the Khoekhoen and San, drawing on archaeological findings and going back tens of thousands of years to provide a historical context for the interactions later to come between them and the Europeans. This is when the book gets really interesting, as Mountain describes the early political/cultural sources of the apartheid regime of the 1900s.

My Traitor’s Heart; Rian Malan - Malan, an Afrikaner born in South Africa during the early days of apartheid, describes in this book his experiences as an anti-racism, anti-apartheid individual and as a crime journalist in South Africa during apartheid. His opposition to apartheid and racism contrasts sharply with many of the people in his family tree, including DF Malan. This book reads really fast and is extremely, extremely informative about the different cultures in South Africa and the day-to-day experiences of all under apartheid.

Have you seen Zandile?; Gcina Mphophle - this is a play which takes the audience through the early life story of Zandile, an extremely happy eight year old who lives with her grandma near Durban. She’s taken away unexpectedly and much to her and her grandma’s distress; the story then follows her into her late teens as she gradually learns more and more about her mother’s past. This story is one of loved-ones being separated and torn apart, but is much more; it shares quietly and subtly through this main plot the effects of apartheid on the family and the individual’s personal growth.

Unrelated to SA, but still great:

A Fine Balance; Rohinton Mistry

This story describes the lives of a wide cast of characters in an unspecified city in India - each one comes from a different background and totally different life experiences. Included are an uncle and nephew who lost a close relative in an incident of voting related violence, a young widower who is committed to living independently despite the strong cultural expectation to remarry, and a slew of other intervening characters who represent varying degrees of political progressiveness and conservativeness in the Indian context. The plot thickens around their interactions, before each of which Mistry gives the background of each character.