Novel
Victims
Arthur Maimane · 1976
Synopsis
In the Johannesburg of the 1950s, a young African rapes a young white woman. She gives birth to the child born of this crime, and her life in white society collapses; he escapes arrest without escaping the consequences of his act, and fate brings him back to her, forcing him to take the measure of his place in a racist and violent society. The novel describes the hard life of the townships, Sophiatown included, and the drift of black intellectuals towards white liberal circles.
Context
The novel appeared in London in 1976 from Allison & Busby and was banned in South Africa as soon as it appeared, while being well received in Britain. It draws on what its author had seen as a young Drum reporter in the 1950s. According to Encyclopedia.com, censorship delayed its publication in the country by some thirty years: it reappeared there in 2000 from Kwela Books, under the title Hate No More.
Who it is for
A novel in English on a hard subject, sexual violence and racial law, direct to read; not translated into French.
Prizes and reception
Thomas Pringle Award of the English Academy of Southern Africa for creative writing, in 1978.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.