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A review by hawaiianbrian
The Jack Bank: A Memoir of a South African Childhood by Glen Retief
5.0
I don't have much experience with memoir, but this one was great. Written by one of my grad school associates and friends, Glen Retief, The Jack Bank tells of his early years in South Africa, in an environment where violence often merges with power and sexuality. Life in an African National Park itself was interesting, but his depiction of the horrors taking place in boarding school was gut-wrenching. The title and back cover only touch on the depth of violence and depravity inflicted upon the lowerclassmen by the seniors late at night when there are no teachers around.
But for me the most interesting part of the book took place toward the end, when as a young gay man in his 20s, Glen lived in Cape Town and dated a man from the ghetto of Soweto, many hours' drive away. Glen has lived a fairly sheltered life (the "Jack Bank" notwithstanding), and has become aware of his privilege and power as a white man, but he is still easily fooled by romanticized notions of how those in poverty live, seeing them as more pure and honest. He moves through the ghetto like a privileged white boy: unaware of danger, unwilling to believe the locals about the reality of the place, and falsely secure in his misunderstanding about his relationships with locals. This all comes crashing down quickly when rivals of the ANC (this was in the early 90s) raid Soweto while Glen is still there.
A great book, which I highly suggest.
But for me the most interesting part of the book took place toward the end, when as a young gay man in his 20s, Glen lived in Cape Town and dated a man from the ghetto of Soweto, many hours' drive away. Glen has lived a fairly sheltered life (the "Jack Bank" notwithstanding), and has become aware of his privilege and power as a white man, but he is still easily fooled by romanticized notions of how those in poverty live, seeing them as more pure and honest. He moves through the ghetto like a privileged white boy: unaware of danger, unwilling to believe the locals about the reality of the place, and falsely secure in his misunderstanding about his relationships with locals. This all comes crashing down quickly when rivals of the ANC (this was in the early 90s) raid Soweto while Glen is still there.
A great book, which I highly suggest.