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Summary: If there is a book to understand South Africa, this is it
Review: "My traitor's heart" is a deeply and uncommonly sincere book by a white South African who tries to explain and understand the Kafkian and tragic dynamics generated by the apartheid regime. Malan painfully goes over the South African experience through his family's history (he is related to D. F. Malan, one the architects of apartheid) and his own experiences and investigations, and what emerges is a picture full of blood, confusion, and tears. The major question one asks at the end of the book is if there is any hope of coming to terms with the past and move on. There are, despite the efforts by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, too many animosities not only between blacks and whites, but within blacks and whites themselves, and Malan's book might turn out to be sadly prophetic as to how we treat each other in this country. Perhaps "My traitor's heart" is too pessimistic, but I usually find that pessimistic books are the most realistic, and for that reason I highly recommend reading Malan's book.
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Summary: finding a new understanding
Review: A refreshing account of history as told by a man examining his own fears and passions. The use of story-telling, factual events, and mythical accounts gives the reader the opportunity to think critically about the atrocities of South Africa and learn from the experience of a man you have never met but who so courageously invites us into his most private thoughts. This book reads as though this descendant of the father of apartheid is talking to you and inviting you to share your thoughts with him as well. As a reporter and "white African" Malan is trying to resolve for himself and his fellow countrymen the issue of race. Malan talks about a war that has been going on since the earliest Dutch settlers claimed parts of Africa as their own and helps us to understand the atrocity through accounts of murders and a detailed history of the events surrounding them. Through his journey Malan begins to form an understanding he did not expect and find hereos in unexpected places.
This is an excellent read for those who are looking for a good background of the history of South Africa and a general understanding of the society today.
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Summary: In a world of shades of Grey-- what is the moral highground?
Review: Answer: there is none There is only who you are. This is an excellent read for anyone who isn't willing to be TOLD what to believe, or how to address issues as sensitive as race/color/heritage. Having some exposure to South Africa (or in my case Namibia-- a country once "ruled" by South Africa under apartheid) brings the story home more vividly... but is not necessary for either understanding nor involvement. Malan tells us frankly what he saw, experienced, did and felt-- and finds his own answers in the process. Don't expect to be able to read this and not think about it. I don't recommend reading it at night if you are a visual person, but I certainly recommend reading it thoroughly and with an open mind.
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Summary: The most powerful book I've ever read.
Review: As an Africanist scholar and as an American living in South Africa I've read more books about this country than I can remember. None however has affected me quite like this one. I was given the book by a professor about four or five years ago and I've read it over and over again ever since. I cannot begin to explain how powerful, personal, mind expanding and truly rare this book is. Just read it, I promise it will change your whole view of the world.
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Summary: Perfection between two covers
Review: Every positive comment you've read about this book... believe it. The style is beautiful, descriptive and thorough, maintaining rapt attention. You feel as though you're with Rian, he's telling you the story of the Hammerman, right in front of you. Along with "Requiem For A Dream", this is the most absolutely fantastic book I've ever had the pleasure to read. My only disappointments are for one, that, because it's thought of as a book "about South Africa", rather than the portrait of humanity it truly is, it won't get the wide audience it so much deserves; this book should be read by every man, woman, schoolchild, businessperson, grocery clerk, etc... Also, it pains me to read it, not merely because of the heart-wrenching descriptiveness of it, but also because of the fact that with every word I read, I come closer to the end.
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Summary: Fearless account of the multiple paranoias of old Sth Africa
Review: Growing up in moral discomfort as a privileged white in apartheid South Africa, Rian Malan sets out to deny, reject, and ultimately understand the system that in a very real sense was the product not only of his tribe, but of his own family. With apartheid such a huge and pervasive structure, he finds his greatest insights in the intimate detail of routine events. As a crime reporter for a Johannesburg newspaper he does the unthinkable, setting out to investigate the individual circumstances in Soweto's myriad daily murders. The closer he looks, the more the reality of a racist and violent system is thrown into relief. He turns up some astonishing stories - the tale of the "Hammerman" is absolutely compelling journalism - but he also reveals, as Michael Ignatieff has done, how faultlines can open up to murderous degrees from the very simplest failures of understanding. All the cosy assumptions, the fables that comfort in turn the arch-conservatives, the liberals, the youthful rebels, the black freedom fighters - and Malan himself - are shown to be suspect. As his sensibilities sharpen, Malan develops a deep pessimism about the country which for all its violent complexities, he cannot help but love. It should be said the substance of this book was written before Nelson Mandela's release, and it was published three years before South Africans finally voted for a government of their choice. Malan himself has conceded the future may not be as bleak as he foresaw. It doesn't matter. The lasting value of this book is in its description of a search for truth. The humility he brings to the process provides its own lesson. South Africa has been blessed with some of the towering figures of the late 20th century. But even with their leadership, there are few easy answers, and this book goes a long way to explaining why.
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Summary: Astounding!
Review: I am an avid reader,having read several books about South Africa. Being an African American I was very curious as to what this author had to say, and figured that I would end up being totally turned off, thus having wasted my time and money ordering it. Was I wrong! My Traitor' Heart was well worth the money and definitely the time. This book casts a broad beacon of light on the very dark history of South African's Apartheid and the evils it wrought on both blacks and the whites who were sympathetic to the struggle. "My Traitor's Heart" was the most heart rending book, but because it gives the reader such fantastic factual information, you can't put it down. I certainly hope Mr. Malan is not through sharing his insights, knowledge and experiences in his native country. I hope his next book comes out soon. Rian Malan I respect and admire you. Excellent!
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Summary: the long wait
Review: I first read this book in 1991, intrigued after seeing the BBC documentary (no video available?) of Malan reliving the horrors and inversions of his terrible journey into the hearts of his countrymen.I was so moved by the book that I wrote to thank him for his thoughts and words. Inevitably this book struck me as his journey towards his truth, which inspires and jolts the reader into a new awareness of their awesome existence in a world of men that seems to seek to render them helpless. It is impossible not to feel and to take a passionate stand about the stories he unfolds of blood and murder in his homeland. But South Africa is only unique in this respect in the openness of the killing. I recently watched a programme about SA, also on the BBC, - a visit by Louis Theroux in his "Weird" series which showed that far from the radical change expected since Malan's original, the Nazi's of SA are alive and well - Eugene Terreblanche may be in prison, but his form of Nationalism exists everywhere in the First World in some form or other. Malan's predictions are all but coming true...thanks for replying to a young idealist all those years ago, Malan. I'm still living my happy but wiser life, searching, writing, and waiting for the next chapters of your story.
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Summary: A journalistic examination of mans ties with aparthied
Review: I found My Traitor's Heart beautifully written. His strong sense of structure of his 3 books within a single book, explaining his and his families life with apartheid. Malan's journalistic skills are evident in his narrative through his detailed examination of events, especially in Book Two when many murders take place. Although Malan's intent on writing this novel may or may not be justified as some view him as a complete "liar", My Traitor's Heart still captivates the struggles between white and blacks during and after apartheid with precision.
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Summary: don't just get gripped, grip the situation!
Review: I have decided to add to my earlier review to particularly address the issues raised by the unnamed reviewer (15th August 2001). There is a tendency in today's world for simplistic emotional reactions in a world that seems increasingly violent and frightening. We are fed, non-stop, images and stories that leave us struggling to cope with the task of getting to the bottom of anything. and yet if we are to ever stand a chance of regaining control of our world we (as individuals) will have to do a lot better than be gripped by horror. We will also have to get a grip on the facts - it is a commonplace to hear of intra-group fighting that springs seemingly from simple hatred. The previous reviewer was anxious to make the point that Africans (wherever they may be) not be denied their right to human failings and rightly so. This does not, however, absolve us of the responsibility to look beyond the capacity for murder and mayhem for the origins of atrocities. In the case of South Africa, history (in the form of the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commision) has since recorded the fact that the South African government at the time was working hard to stoke whatever fires it could set or find among different groups in SA. And these are only the easiest explanations. It is difficult for many people to begin to appreciate the destructive effect of European civilisation on other peoples (especially while cloaked in it). The comparison that i made with feminism is apposite - compare the progress made in the understanding of the undermining nature of male domination of women now and 30 years ago. Much of what is today accepted as at least worthy of investigation was then regarded as absurd. Not least by women. For any observer to comment on South Africa without considering the various contexts is careless. For a South African, it smacks of wilful and motivated negligence and for a South African claiming the mantle tzhat Mr Malan claims, it lacks credibility. Once again, read "the mirror at midnight" or "the bang bang club" (which is entirely about 'black on black' violence) for a more conscientious treatment of SA.
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