A review by imanisun
Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mark Mathabane

5.0

I liked this book a lot. It reminded me of [b:Native Son|15622|Native Son|Richard Wright|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166676407s/15622.jpg|3159084] and [b:The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley|92057|The Autobiography of Malcolm X As Told to Alex Haley|Malcolm X|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171240741s/92057.jpg|47400] except the setting was South Africa. This book tells the story of Johannes(pardon my spelling) who lives in a township(slum,ghetto, whatever you wanna call it) outside of the city of Johannesburg. It depicts Johannes's life over about 10 years. Throughout the book , he is often called "kaffir" which is just another way of saying "nigger". After reading this book I got a better idea of apartheid. I learned that it was a harsher form of America's segregation. The only thing negative I have to say about this book is that out of the blue Johannes was starting to be referred to as "mark". Out of the blue. And then I kind if wanted him to have a girlfriend because all he kept talking about was tennis.