South African Literature Recommendations

South Africa has a rich history of literature, much of which deals with the the racial issues that ended in the end of apartheid.  Here is an introduction to South African literature through 10 authors. Most familiar with J.M. Coetzee - 2003 Nobel Prize (Disgrace, and Waiting for the Barbarians) and Nadine Gordimer - 1991 Nobel - her works were banned under apartheid. 


In addition, here are two special books - one a classic, Nelson Mandela's autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom" (also a movie); and another autobiography by contemporary comic, Noah Trevor: "Born a crime". I listened to both as audiobooks - the latter read by Trevor Noah - both very entertaining and a profound first hand account of growing up mixed race (a crime) in apartheid South Africa. 

1) Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiographical work written by South African President Nelson Mandela, and first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison. Under the apartheid government, Mandela was regarded as a terrorist and jailed on the infamous Robben Island for his role as a leader of the then-outlawed ANC. He later achieved international recognition for his leadership as president in rebuilding the country's once segregated society. The last chapters of the book describe his political ascension, and his belief that the struggle still continued against apartheid in South Africa.

2) Born a Crime: 
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Michiko Kakutani, New York Times - Newsday - Esquire - NPR - Booklist Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa's tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother--his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world …

-- 
Edward A, Nardell, MD
Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
617 877-9412 (cell)
enardell@partners.org (alt. email)

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