Book Description:
For years, it has been what is called a "deteriorating situation." Now it is war. All over South Africa, cities are battlegrounds, and radio and television stations are under siege. Bam and Maureen Smales take up their servant July's suggestion and drive with their children to his remote home village. For fifteen years, July has been the decently treated black servant, totally dependent on them. Now, he becomes their host, their savior, and their keeper. Suddenly facing a hunted life of bare subsistence, owing their survival to July, the Smales are forced to look at him and at one another in an entirely new light. They find life utterly changed and harboring different dread and hope for each individual.
My Review:
This is a story about the turmoil of apartheid in South Africa. One white family is rescued by their black servant and taken to his home village. You get a glimpse at how the power has changed between these two different groups of people. I found the book very well-written and easy to read and understand. The vivid descriptions set the mood and atmosphere and you feel everything the characters are feeling. The book is a little outdated (written in 1981) and this did not really happen but it is a haunting premise. I would highly recommend this book to those who want to learn about apartheid in South Africa.
For years, it has been what is called a "deteriorating situation." Now it is war. All over South Africa, cities are battlegrounds, and radio and television stations are under siege. Bam and Maureen Smales take up their servant July's suggestion and drive with their children to his remote home village. For fifteen years, July has been the decently treated black servant, totally dependent on them. Now, he becomes their host, their savior, and their keeper. Suddenly facing a hunted life of bare subsistence, owing their survival to July, the Smales are forced to look at him and at one another in an entirely new light. They find life utterly changed and harboring different dread and hope for each individual.
My Review:
This is a story about the turmoil of apartheid in South Africa. One white family is rescued by their black servant and taken to his home village. You get a glimpse at how the power has changed between these two different groups of people. I found the book very well-written and easy to read and understand. The vivid descriptions set the mood and atmosphere and you feel everything the characters are feeling. The book is a little outdated (written in 1981) and this did not really happen but it is a haunting premise. I would highly recommend this book to those who want to learn about apartheid in South Africa.
