Antjie Krog is a South African poet and journalist who earned international renown for her coverage of South African’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as reported in her first book, Country of My Skull.
In her new book, Begging to be Black, Krog combines fictional, philosophical and historical writing, a fascinating mixture of literary genres that demands constant attention by the reader, to explore what it means to be part of a white Afrikaner minority in post-apartheid South Africa ruled by a black majority. The book begins with a murder committed by anti-apartheid activists, friends of the white Afrikaner protagonist (who resembles Antjie Krog), just as apartheid was ending. The author has to explore her political affiliations and moral beliefs in the face of this murder. Her explorations take us on a journey across the South African moral and historical landscape, sometimes desolate, but always with hope. The book forces us to question how we can lead a good life when faced by constant political compromise, by cultural confusion and misunderstanding, and most of all by the politics of fear. A compelling story and a thoughtful reflection on our political, moral, and emotional existences.
[Note: this book has not yet been published in the U.S.]