Rating: 
Summary: Everyone should read this book.
Review: I have just finished reading My Traitor's Heart, and all I can say is that I cannot wait to read it again. It was an unbelievably honest account of South Africa and how an average white middle class person deals with the injustices of the world. This is not just a book about apartheid, it is a book for anyone who grapples with living in the first world, while so many are dying in the third. This is quite possibly the most honest book about the world that I have ever encountered.
Rating: 
Summary: 21st century malan - not so treacherous after all
Review: i hesitate to write this review for a couple of reasons. firstly from a purely technical point it is not the review it might have been because i did not write it just after reading the book and consequently, the factual bases for my dislike of the book are not to hand. i hope, nonetheless, to convey the spirit of my dislike accurately. The second reason is that, though an african, i hesitate to rush to judgement about South Africa - its reality being quite different from mine (the obvious similarities notwithstanding). i only wish other reviewers were as reticent (but more about that later). The central thrust of my extreme dislike of this book is that it is, at its core, a thoroughly dishonest attempt to dissolve the guilt of europeans at what they have wrought, in the general mayhem and horror that has followed. It is as if by showing us just how horrible the actions of *all* of the players in South Africa's drama are, we can escape the questions of how and why this nightmare began. It is the modern equivalent of that boer lie that they and the africans collided in their travels in South Africa - the implication being that both 'migratory' groups therefore have equal right to South Africa. In the modern version it is not right to the land that the myth seeks to share but responsibility. we are unremittingly thrown morsels of horror and terror without any but the most superficial analyses, as if the south african condition has no historical context. This cynicism reaches its nadir in the epilogue in which we read of the misadventure of a 'liberal' adventurer and his wife. This is supposed to reveal how impossible the natives are to deal with (or even to assist); how they think differently and obviously march to the beat of a different (and needless to say, less 'civilized') drumbeat when, in fact, the story is told, at all times (and as is pervasively the case in books about SA), from the perspective of the european. it is not hard to see why a book such as this is a huge hit with europeans. it allows them to rationalise a continuing and personally relevant injustice. it lets the europeans off lightly and wins high praise from them as a result. For a more honest look at South Africa, read "the mirror at midnight". it, also, is written by a european american, but does not dodge the issues even as it conveys many of the same emotions as malan's book - notably a sort of admiration for the boer spirit. it is clearly going to be as much of a challenge for powerful europeans to begin to look honestly at the nature of their motives and thoughts about other peoples as it has been (and still is) for men (versus women). the debate about the nature of the interactions between the races lags far behind the debate about the sexes but one draws hope from the advances made by feminism.
Rating:
Summary: The heart of darkness isn't necessarily dark
Review: In college in the late 80's/early 90's, the South African malaise of social injustice intrigued me, drew me in to study it and explore potential outcomes. It's surprising that no one pointed me in the direction of this book to learn more about the exact personal toll of the apartheid policy. Granted Malan tells his side and experiences as a liberal Afrikaner that becomes an expatriate South Afrikaner and eventually comes back to try to come to terms with his country's separatist racial policy. There are other sides to this story that should be explored if one wants to get a complete look at what European colonialism and apartheid did to South Africa. But as part of the story, Rian Malan tells it passionately and you will remember the book long after you've put it down.It is naive to think that since the ugly face of apartheid has been pulled away, Nelson Mandela has been freed, that these problems in South Africa changed overnight. One can say it was a peaceful revolution (as stated in Susan Dunn's book Sister Revolutions), but there was so much blood leading up to the point where the Afrikaners handed over the reigns of government. Malan vividly accounts some of these personal tales of blood and what is to be made of them. The future of his country looks bleak amid these tales of hate and cultural differences, but there is a thread of hope...that maybe they can live together in a strange land. Malan starts off the book, "I'm burned out and starving to death, so I'm just going to lay this all upon you and trust that you're a visionary reader, because the grand design, such as it is, is going to be hard for you to see." You may not come to see the grand design but you will be engaged trying as you experience this book. The grand design in anything is rarely revealed, as the endgame for South Africa has yet to be reached today...but Malan tells it like it is without a grand design, but an ugly design he has witnessed nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Dare I say it? A masterpiece...
Review: It seems that everyone has an opinion about Africa and all those opinions exist somewhere on a single sliding scale. At one end is the idea that all of that continent's problems are the result of some kind of post-colonial hangover and that if it hadn't been for the Europeans, Africa would be a wealthy, progressive Utopia. On the other extreme, is the opinion that the African culture has evolved in such a way as to virtually preclude `successful' statehood. Critics of this book tend to dislike it based on their position on that scale relative to the author's (somewhere in the middle, by the way.) Also, they sometimes use dubious facts and theories to back up their positions (e.g. Malan does indeed discuss the Afrikaner disinformation campaign designed to turn tribes/political movements against each other, and trying to determine what ethnic groups have `first settler' rights to a given piece of dirt is virtually impossible.) But all this is completely irrelevant. As is clearly stated in the extended title, this is the story of one man's journey though his own past and conscience. On this level, it is a triumph. It is the only book I have ever read that doesn't seem to include a single divisive word. Whether you agree with Malan's observations or not, I think it is clear that he agonized over and believed deeply in every one. Additionally, the book is beautifully written on almost every level: smooth, engaging prose, balanced structure, and unfailing pace. It is almost impossible for the reader not be affected in one way or another. It has been asked whether this book is still relevant in light of the fall of Apartheid and the progression of S.A. in the years since its publication. Certainly, as a wonderfully crafted look into one individual's soul and his struggle to find his place in the world, it is. But has it become outdated politically, as has been suggested? I wonder. At the writing of this review, Zimbabwe is trying hard to destroy itself in a misguided effort to deal with its colonial past. Unfortunately, My Traitor's Heart may have some life in it yet...
Rating:
Summary: Dare I say it? A masterpiece...
Review: It seems that everyone has an opinion about Africa and all those opinions exist somewhere on a single sliding scale. At one end is the idea that all of that continent's problems are the result of some kind of post-colonial hangover and that if it hadn't been for the Europeans, Africa would be a wealthy, progressive Utopia. On the other extreme, is the opinion that the African culture has evolved in such a way as to virtually preclude 'successful' statehood. Critics of this book tend to dislike it based on their position on that scale relative to the author's (somewhere in the middle, by the way.) Also, they sometimes use dubious facts and theories to back up their positions (e.g. Malan does indeed discuss the Afrikaner disinformation campaign designed to turn tribes/political movements against each other, and trying to determine what ethnic groups have 'first settler' rights to a given piece of dirt is virtually impossible.) But all this is completely irrelevant. As is clearly stated in the extended title, this is the story of one man's journey though his own past and conscience. On this level, it is a triumph. It is the only book I have ever read that doesn't seem to include a single divisive word. Whether you agree with Malan's observations or not, I think it is clear that he agonized over and believed deeply in every one. Additionally, the book is beautifully written on almost every level: smooth, engaging prose, balanced structure, and unfailing pace. It is almost impossible for the reader not be affected in one way or another. It has been asked whether this book is still relevant in light of the fall of Apartheid and the progression of S.A. in the years since its publication. Certainly, as a wonderfully crafted look into one individual's soul and his struggle to find his place in the world, it is. But has it become outdated politically, as has been suggested? I wonder. At the writing of this review, Zimbabwe is trying hard to destroy itself in a misguided effort to deal with its colonial past. Unfortunately, My Traitor's Heart may have some life in it yet...
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, profound, disturbing in the right way
Review: It's difficult to put into words the admiration I feel for Rian Malan's honesty. I feel grateful that he chose to share his quest for truth and humanity in South Africa -- he manages to present the very disturbing results of this quest without falling into pathos and desperation.
Rating: 
Summary: A white South African's view...
Review: It's difficult to say what is true in for a South African where propaganda was the main source of information, but this book provide a large insight for me into my country and it's (recent) past. Unfortunately the book has become dated since it ends before our election. The book ends in a very sombre and sobering situation, excluding many of the changes that happened afterwards. The book does add a wonderfull insight into the afrikaner and his becoming part of Africa, as well as the great restlessness and lust for revenge that Mandela and the rest of our leaders has managed to avoid, and even (bless them) seem to lack themselves. A really gripping and sobering book.
Rating:
Summary: three chords and the truth
Review: Malan is no psuedo liberal shouting the odds from ill informed privilaged South Africa. He writes with sincerity and truth. This is simply one of the best books ever written. It's people like Malan that make white South Africa not loose their sense of belonging. Read this, it will liberate you.
Rating:
Summary: However traitorous, this book is from an exceptional heart.
Review: Malan offers us a perspective on South Africa that is unlike any other, neither proselytizing nor preaching, justifying nor whinging. The best thing about the book is the voice in which the author's well considered thoughts are rendered; his reflections are at once journalistic and humanistic (a feat in and of itself). The lack of emotional distance in this narrative is part of the point of telling it. This is a terrific way to see how history and politics affect a person as a whole, and incorporate into a soul. It's heartening to read that to be emotional and inexorably involved with one's subject does not necessarily lead to paralysis. The author is partial, he is affected, and he is wonderfully articulate about the elements that make up his consciousness, and his conscience. While gaining a different kind of understanding of the history and socio-political situation in South Africa, there's the feeling that it's all communicated by someone with whom I'd been lucky enough to have had a personal conversation. Heartily recommended to anyone interested in more than just rhetoric about the region, and essential to a historical or political curriculum.
Rating:
Summary: A terrible, necessary gift to the world
Review: My book club chose this title for our most recent discussion....All caucasian women, middle-class or thereabouts, Canadian by birth. All quite whacked into silence and deep reflection by this book. Rian Malan has bared his own heart, his own mind, his own racist ancestry and his horrific awakenings to the demonic power of apartheid. He spares us nothing in the stories he shares and I wonder how he could keep himself sane and loving as he uncovered, witnessed and experienced an evil that is almost beyond description. He asks at the book's opening, "How do I live in this strange land?" -- He doesn't have an answer to the basic question of why we humans act with such hatred to one another, but his monumental courage in laying bare the poisons of racial cruelty is a horrible and necessary medicine for all of us. This book has jarred me permanently; I am grateful for its power. I hope that Rian writes again -- this first book was originally published in 1990; I would love to read his impressions of the last decade as South Africans struggle to release themselves from the noose of apartheid. Thank you, Rian.
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