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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Torture, Murder
The fact that she is a poet is what made this book so special, in my opinion. Her struggle to reconcile her life of privelege as a white afrikaaner with the stories she heard during the truth and reconciliation process touched me and made me want to understand what happens in the minds of those who profit when others are suffering...do they know? Do they not know? Do they know somewhere and make adjustments?
I would give this ten stars if I could. I think this was the best book I've read all year, and Antjie Krog is now way up there on my list of favourite authors. The book covers the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, and written by someone who was there for the very beginning of the process, and covered it as a journalist right the way through. The subject matter - reconciliation within a population that have committed violent crime against each other, reminded me a lot of Germany, where I live, and Bangladesh, where my family are from.
South Africa dealt with the violence in a totally different way to both Germany and Bangladesh, and Krog delves into the difficulties around this, and the consequences. Nothing was easy, and she doesn't shy away from admitting, or even, embracing this. It's the perfect mix of narrative and personal around such a heartbreaking topic, from someone who was experiencing it first hand. It's somehow simultaneously a difficult and yet totally spell-binding book to read. I can't recommend it enough to get a window into South African history, or to learn more about peace and reconciliation in post-conflict countries - or simply, to read some of the most compelling non-fiction storytelling I've ever read.
South Africa dealt with the violence in a totally different way to both Germany and Bangladesh, and Krog delves into the difficulties around this, and the consequences. Nothing was easy, and she doesn't shy away from admitting, or even, embracing this. It's the perfect mix of narrative and personal around such a heartbreaking topic, from someone who was experiencing it first hand. It's somehow simultaneously a difficult and yet totally spell-binding book to read. I can't recommend it enough to get a window into South African history, or to learn more about peace and reconciliation in post-conflict countries - or simply, to read some of the most compelling non-fiction storytelling I've ever read.
I am going to purchase a hard copy of this book. I need to have one to lend out to people. I have loved this book, and cried for the stories portrayed within. If you want a human grasp on the horrors of South Africa during Apartheid, this is you book. Written by a poet/journalist/Afrikaner. It is a great wrestle with truth, guilt, and reconciliation. Highly. Highly recommend.
This is a quite skillful book. It combines personal narrative, poetry, political theory, and a retelling of the truth commission. Despite how long it took me to finish this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It ended up dragging because of my lack of background knowledge on apartheid. There was a lot mentioned that I really didn't grasp because I don't know the atrocities or context.