Mother to Mother (Bluestreak)

Mother to Mother Book ReviewMother to Mother by Sindiwe Magona tells the story of the narrator who grew up in South African Apartheid, to do this she explains the circumstances that led up to her Son Mxolisi’s murder of a girl who was driving through their township of Guguletu. Although never mentioned by name it is presumed to be Amy Biehl a white American exchange student who was killed there. Ultimately the book tries to explain her death not justify it so as to lend Biehl’s parents some measure of peace. However, it should be noted that Magona has no relation to Biehl’s killers and that the account is entirely fictional.Mother to Mother is both powerful and evocative. Magona weaves in native words giving it an air of authenticity. In a larger sense the writing feels distinctly “African” that brings to mind Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Further adding to the authenticity and credibility of the narrative is the genuine affection that Magona shows when writing about Mxolisi. The book grapples with how the legacy of colonialism helped to contribute to the tragic killing of Biehl. Explain that it was a product of the injustice of colonialism she writes that her murder was product of “the long-simmering dark desires of his race” (P.3064). This understanding of violence as a product of history is similar to Lucy’s understanding of her attack in Disgrace by J.M Coetzee. In a border literary context Magona’s talent is her ability to powerfully describe the direct effects of apartheid but also the resilience of the human spirt making for an enormously powerful read. She writes “We laugh, to hide the gaping hole where our hearts used to be. Guguletu killed us . . . killed the thing that held us together . . . made us human. Yet, we still laugh.” (P.488). In this way Mother to Mother is like Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions in that explores the mental state of the colonized, but unlike Nervous Conditions it is an adult’s reflection on Colonialism which makes all of its horrors clear.However, to simply confide the novel to a meditation on South Africa would be to do it an injustice. For it explores how violence begets more violence and the self-destructive actions oppressed people will take if they believe it will lead to their emancipation. Magona writes of her ancestors who believed that burning their own fields would lead to the Boers leaving South Africa. As an Anglo-American this book gave me pause. A peer of mine from Burkina Faso asked me to explain Thanking and for the first time I paused to consider what Thanksgiving must mean for American Indians today. That is not to say I was not aware of the horror of American colonization. However, this book asked me to consider the interpersonal violence of colonialism, so I thank Magona for that. Despite being written over 20 years ago, Mother to Mother is relevant not only to the African literary scene but also to those looking to understand the brutality of colonialism and the long shadow it casts. For those looking to avoid the proverbial danger of a single story this is a must read.

Drawing from the 1993 killing of Amy Biehl in apartheid-era South Africa, Mother to Mother, a novel by Sindiwe Magona, shares with us a different perspective. Literature about murders of white people by black people tend to avoid the women in the killer's life - unless it's framed in terms of pathology. In Native Sun, for instance, the women were silent [as well as the first to be killed]. It is very rare for such women to be allowed to narrate their own life stories. With her quietly powerful novel, Magona has changed that dynamic.From the author's preface (abbreviated):Fulbright scholar Amy Elizabeth Biehl was set upon and killed by a mob of black youth in Guguletu, South Africa in August 1993. The outpouring of grief, outrage and support for the Biehl family was unprecedented in the history of the country.[---]In my novel, there is only one killer. Through his mother's memories, we get a glimpse of human callousness of the kind that made the murder of Amy Biehl possible. And here I am back in the legacy of apartheid - a system repressive and brutal, that bred senseless inter- and intra-racial violence as well as other nefarious happenings; a system that promoted a twisted sense of right and wrong, with everything seen through the warped prism of the overarching crime against humanity, as the international community labelled it.The mother, Mandisa, had her oldest child, Mxolisi - the one who, through his actions, catapults her into narration - when she was a 15 year old school girl. It has to be noted that, at the time of her pregnancy. Mandisa was a virgin. The inclusion of an African immaculate conception raises immediate questions concerning Magona's intent. Was it by design - the correlation between Mary and Mandisa and Jesus and Mxolisi. Or was it simply happenstance - a byproduct of the story line? Considering that Mother to Mother is Magona's first novel (although not her first book), the latter might be more legitimate.The legitimacy of the questions, however. is overshadowed by the undeniable fact that both Mxolisi and Jesus were instrumental in bringing about changes in their respective status quos. As a result of the crucifixion of Jesus, Christianity became a potent force in the world. Subsequent to the killing of Amy Biehl, the death knoll for apartheid - which had been slowly but steadily ringing for decades - increased in volume to the point that it no longer was a "knoll" but a toyi toyi, the martial dance which symbolized the determination of South Africa's majority black population to never again live as a disenfranchised minority.Going the Jesus route, however, in explaining the murder of Biehl sidesteps the question Mandisa herself asks, over and over again.What was she doing, vagabonding all over Gugulethu, of all places; taking her foot where she had no business? Where did she think she was going? Was she blind not to see there were no white people in this place?Or does it? Did Amy Biehl demonstrate a god complex by treading where no white person went? Did she think her presence in South Africa as a well meaning white person assisting with the transition to a democratically elected government would protect her from repercussions of apartheid? Was she so divorced from the harsh reality that produced slogans like one settler, one bullet that she thought it perfectly logically to drive her black companions to Gugulethu?There will probably never be a definitive answer to such questions. However, Mandisa herself provides a perspective - one that both reinforces the primacy of her life as well as highlights of the consequences of disconnectedness.Now, your daughter has paid for the sins of the fathers and mothers who did not do their share of seeing that my son had a life worth living. Mother to Mother (Bluestreak)

After being taught by Sindiwe Magona in a life writing class at GSU, I feel in love with her work and especially her narrative voice.The novel begins with a letter writing my Mxolisi’s mother, Mandy, as her Madam knows her. The narrative is always very concise and descriptive. The first is just as enticing as the lines that follow. “My son killed your daughter” (Magona, p1). Although the riddle is solved and the readers are not left wondering who did it, this line creates a lot of puzzlement within the reader. Questions about the son but most importantly the mother, which I found to be a brilliant perspective to use for this particular topic. Although the letter ends the style of short and descriptive sentences continue. Professor Magona always reiterated the importance of setting and in this novel it is crucial because the setting is the most influential character. This story is told through the somber and apologetic eyes of a mother who no longer sees potential in her surroundings. It's honesty is refreshing and disheartening at the same time. Which makes for a great timeless read.

This is a really good book. It's very sad, and I could see many similarities in some the chain of events that took place in Guguletu and other communities in the book, to things that are still happening in America today. Strained relationships among races, gentrification forcing power people from their homes and neighborhoods, and the oppression of people of color.

Very good writing!

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to read this, but I'm glad I did. I learned some things I hadn't known about apartheid and was really drawn into the harsh realities of the lives of the narrator and her family.

Obwohl das Buch mother to mother als Schulbuch gedacht ist, ist ein sehr gutes Buch zum privaten Lesen. Es erzählt eine erschütternde Geschichte zweier Mütter. Die eine der ermordeten Tochter und die andere des Mörders.

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Gut

An intensive and excellent insight into South Africa. Well paced and written superbly. To be recommended to people interested in SA!

Mir hat das Lesen dieses Buches keinen Spaß bereitet