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- South African authors - |
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Miriam's Song: A Memoir |
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| Miriam's Song: A Memoir by Miriam Mathabane as told to Mark Mathabene (Author of Kaffir Boy) Simon & Schuster 315 pages, 2000 ISBN 0684833034 Reviewed by our South African Editor, Merilyn Tomkins adams.west@saol.com - Adams Bookshop, Durban, SA Miriam's Song is the powerful memoir of a young black woman coming of age in South Africa amid the violence of the 1980s, representative of an entire generation, who saw the abolition of apartheid and the birth of a democratic South Africa. It is beautifully written by her brother Mark Mathabane who first came to prominence with the publication of Kaffir Boy, a New York Times bestseller and one of the most riveting accounts of life under apartheid. Mathabane writes in Miriam's voice, based on stories she told him. But he has re-created her unforgettable experiences as only someone who also lived through it could. The immediacy of the hardships that brother and sister endured - from daily school beatings to near-overwhelming poverty - is balanced by the beauty of their childhood observations and the true affection they have for each other. Miriam emerges as both an innocent child drawn into the war against apartheid, and a strong woman forever changed by the struggles, brutality, and politics of the world around her. Mark emerges once more as a writer of extraordinary ability, sensitivity, and insight. "Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I notice a Mello-Yello armoured truck racing down the street. The truck comes to a screeching halt right next to me. Without warning, three of the black policemen leap off the truck and start whipping me with the sjamboks. For several seconds my feet fail me. Snapping out of shock, I scream at the sharp sting of the thick plastic whips flailing my back, buttocks, head and legs. I remember the glee on some of the policemen's faces as they beat me. Strangely enough, I don't feel any hatred for them. I spend entire nights praying for the nightmare to end, for normalcy to return to the township. I long to go back to school. Yet deep in my heart I sense that many of us will die before it's all over." This is a rare look inside the festering adobe shanties of Alexandra, one of South Africa's notorious black townships. Rare because it comes form the heart of a passionate young African who grew up there. Miriam's Song is memoir writing at its finest. With its courage, determination, resilience, hope, and faith, it is truly inspirational. Masterfully told. |
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