Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography--The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa [Paperback]

Mark Mathabane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1998

The Classic Story of Life in Apartheid South Africa

Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of South Africa's most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids were his rites of passage. Like every other child born in the hopelessness of apartheid, he learned to measure his life in days, not years. Yet Mark Mathabane, armed only with the courage of his family and a hard-won education, raised himself up from the squalor and humiliation to win a scholarship to an American university.

This extraordinary memoir of life under apartheid is a triumph of the human spirit over hatred and unspeakable degradation. For Mark Mathabane did what no physically and psychologically battered "Kaffir" from the rat-infested alleys of Alexandra was supposed to do -- he escaped to tell about it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Kaffir Boy does for apartheid-era South Africa what Richard Wright's Black Boy did for the segregated American South. In stark prose, Mathabane describes his life growing up in a nonwhite ghetto outside Johannesburg--and how he escaped its horrors. Hard work and faith in education played key roles, and Mathabane eventually won a tennis scholarship to an American university. This is not, needless to say, an opportunity afforded to many of the poor blacks who make up most of South Africa's population. And yet Mathabane reveals their troubled world on these pages in a way that only someone who has lived this life can. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this powerful account of growing up black in South Africa, a young writer makes us feel intensely the horrors of apartheid. Living illegally in a shanty outside Johannesburg, Johannes (renamed Mark) Mathabane and his illiterate family endured the heartbreak and hopelessness of poverty and the violence of sadistic police and marauding gangs. He describes his drunken father's attempts to inculcate his tribal beliefs and to prevent his son from getting an educationthe one means by which he might escape from the ghetto. Encouraged by his determined mother and grandmother, Mathabane taught himself to read English and play tennis, and, through the assistance of U.S. tennis star Stan Smith and his own efforts and intelligence, obtained a tennis scholarship from a South Carolina college in 1978. Now he is a freelance writer in New York. In the course of relating his inspiring story, he explains the anger and hate that his country's blacks feel toward white people and the inevitability of their rebellion against the Afrikaner government. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (October 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684848287
• ISBN-13: 978-0684848280
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > History > Africa > South Africa
  • #39 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > African-American & Black

More About the Author

Mark Mathabane touched the hearts of millions with his sensational autobiography, Kaffir Boy. Telling the true story of his coming of age under apartheid in South Africa, the book won a prestigious Christopher Award, rose to No. 3 on The New York Times bestsellers list and to No. 1 on the Washington Post bestsellers list, and was translated into several languages. Today, the book is used in classrooms across the U.S. and is on the American Library Association's List of "Outstanding Books for the College-Bound."

Born of destitute parents whose $10-a-week wage could not pay the rent for their shack or put food on the table, Mathabane spent the first 18 years of his life as the eldest of seven children in a one-square-mile ghetto that was home to more than 200,000 blacks.

A childhood of devastating poverty, terrifying police raids and relentless humiliation drove him to the brink of suicide at age ten. A love of learning and books and his dreams of tennis stardom, inspired by Arthur Ashe, carried him from despair, hate and anger to possibility and hope. His illiterate mother believed that education was the only way out of the ghetto. Her courage and sacrifice turned Mathabane's life around.

Mathabane did what no physically and psychologically battered "Kaffir" from the mean streets of Alexandra was supposed to do -- he escaped to tell about it. Tennis was Mathabane's passport to freedom. In 1978, with the help of 1972 Wimbledon champion Stan Smith, Mathabane left South Africa to attend an American university on scholarship. In 1983 Mathabane graduated cum laude with a degree in Economics from Dowling College in Oakdale, New York, where he was the first black editor of the college newspaper.

After studies at the Poynter Media Institute and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Mathabane completed the manuscript of Kaffir Boy and went on to write several more books. He has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Today," CNN, NPR, "The Charlie Rose Show," "Larry King," and numerous other TV and radio programs across the country. His provocative articles have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today. He has been featured in Time, Newsweek and People magazines. A sought-after lecturer, he was nominated for Speaker of the Year by the National Association for Campus Activities.

In 1989, Kaffir Boy in America, which continues the story of Kaffir Boy, was published by Scribner's and became a national bestseller following Mathabane's second appearance on Oprah. In 1992, Love in Black and White, a non-fiction book about interracial relationships and race relations in America, co-authored by his wife, Gail, was published by HarperCollins. In 1994, Mathabane's fourth book appeared -- African Women: Three Generations, which describes the struggles, relationships and triumphs of three South African women who were heroines in Kaffir Boy -- his grandmother, mother and sister Florah.

In September 1997, Mark completed a one-year assignment as a White House Fellow at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., where he helped implement several education initiatives.

His latest work of non-fiction, Miriam's Song, published by Simon & Schuster in 2000, tells the true story of his sister Miriam's coming of age during the turmoil and violence that preceded the end of apartheid and Nelson Mandela's election. His first work of fiction, Ubuntu, is a thriller set against the politically and racially tense backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa. His second novel, The Proud Liberal, tells the story of how a political candidate's daughter thwarts the deadly plans of domestic terrorists in North Carolina.

The movie based on Kaffir Boy is set to begin filming in the fall of 2010 in Alexandra, South Africa. Mark continues to lecture and be involved with his charity, the Magdalene Scholarship Fund, which pays for books, school fees and uniforms for students at Bovet School in Alexandra, South Africa. His website is www.mathabane.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hard-hitting tale of sorrow and hope, October 5, 2000

By 

J. K. Kelley "literary mercenary" (Eastern WA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography--The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa (Paperback)

Not much of an introduction needed here: the full title of the book accurately sums up the subject. This was a book that I bought in used paperback not certain whether I'd finish it, and found myself deeply engrossed in the story and in reflection upon Mathabane's descriptions of life under apartheid.

Mathabane shows a great many literary strengths here. His candid expression of his own feelings can't help but inspire the reader's respect and interest; the whole book feels 'spoken from the heart'. His prejudices, embarrassing moments, times of despair, moments of triumph, and peer relations are all here. Of particular interest to me (naturally, as a white non-South African) was the development of his views of white people--South Africans and foreigners--and how his understanding becomes broader as he meets a wider variety of people. I came away thinking that I'd probably really like Mark Mathabane in person.

His youth in fact makes a good story, one that builds nicely to a conclusion I won't spoil for you except to carefully mention that this is the story only of his youth, not of his whole life. And his descriptive talent, which painted such vivid and contrasting portraits of the life he led, is worthy of the great storytellers of the proud tribes of southern Africa from which he is descended. I would offer the caveat that the book contains explicit sexual and violent scenes that most people would consider inappropriate for children under 14 (and even then I'm assuming a pretty well-adjusted child). Mathabane is never himself vulgar, but some of his experiences certainly were, and he gets through them as quickly as possible but I see why he didn't omit them.

If you ever wondered what life was like for South African blacks under apartheid, particularly for a highly gifted member of that group striving upward against every barrier that several cultures could place before him, this'll be a revelation.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW...A POWERFUL BOOK, January 2, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography--The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa (Paperback)

I never had the slightest idea of what "apartheid" was until I read this book. I had thought it might just be segregation. But it was so much more than just segregation.

Mark Mathabane introduces us to the horrors of his childhood growing up in South Africa, from family problems, to gangs, and the unjust Pass Laws. He learns the value of education and shows just how hard it is to persevere when oppressed by whites who believe Africans to be inferior.

Starting from the 1960's, it provided an in-depth look at the Apartheid from a victim's point of view. It amazed me that it was all real...all the killing and poverty.

It was a very powerful novel. It gave me good sense of the meaning of "apartheid". I would suggest it for those who want to get a good idea of the type of thinking and enduring that went on in South Africa during apartheid. Because it doesn't quite focus on the events of history, but is a personal account of a youth's hardships, the book is very effective in evoking emotions, portraying hardships, rather than just stating the facts.

I really was able to take away a lot from this book. I finished it with a greater sense of the power of perserverance, hopes, and achieving goals.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kaffir Boy, January 4, 2002

By 

Jessica Tort (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography--The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa (Paperback)

Mark Mathabane's autobiography, Kaffir Boy, tells the story of his life while growing up in apartheid South Africa. A victim of segregation, poverty, and brutality, he learned how to survive under the harsh conditions of South Africa during the 1960s and 70s. The true story of this hero is one that everyone should read to try to understand the horror of life for the people of South Africa at this time.

Mark Mathabane grew up in Alexandra, a black ghetto, under the name of Johannes Mathabane. In Alexandra, there were constant police raids, gang wars, and far less than acceptable living conditions. Tiny rented shacks provided homes for families living in this area. Since his family had very little money, Mark and his siblings were forced to sleep on the concrete floor of one of these shacks and often became ill. Early in Mark's life, he had to learn about the terror of police raids. Some of these raids against blacks are described in graphic detail throughout the book. People were arrested, beaten, or even killed, just because of their race. Although fear lived with the people of Alexandra, they had to continue to live their lives. Mark's father, a person who he would have many conflicts with in life, held a low paying job which often did not pay enough money to keep the entire family fed. There would be many times where it did not seem that life would continue for Mark. Luckily, his mother and grandmother were able to find and hold jobs, which put Mark through school. Here, he accelerated in his studies and in tennis. These two things would eventually help Mark rise above his street life.

A person can be described as a hero for many reasons. Mark Mathabane, without a doubt, displayed heroism at many times throughout his life. As a young child, Mark often cared for his younger siblings when his parents could not. He accepted responsibility and did everything he could for them. He often put his brothers and sister before himself. This act shows his selflessness and willingness to help people. When Mark goes to school, he works at his studies extremely hard. He came to love reading, and wanted to learn all that he could. Even with difficult times, Mark worked his hardest at school and was always at the top of his class. Not only was this a major accomplishment for Mark, it also gave his siblings a person to look up to, and an example to follow. When there was not enough money to continue sending he and all of his siblings to school, Mark took a job and helped to pay for his family's expenses. Mark also displays his heroism at many points during his life. His selflessness, hard work, and generosity are just a few of his traits to be admired.

This novel is very well written and difficult to put down. Although at times, mostly in the beginning of the book, the descriptions of police raids and fights are extremely graphic, the words can only describe the situation - not make one live it. Living in a society where all people are equal, it is nearly impossible to comprehend the treatment bestowed upon those who lived under the apartheid in South Africa. What happened there is history, and cannot be changed or ignored. While language and description are graphic, is it important to know what happened to these people so nothing like this can ever happen again. Mark Mathabane has a gift for writing and it is very well demonstrated in his story.

Overall, this book is definitely a worthwhile read. It is one that stirs emotion and provokes thought. Mark Mathabane's life was undoubtedly difficult, but there is an immense feeling of satisfaction when closing the book. This autobiography is not only well-written and able to hold the reader's attention, it is also truly inspiring.