Behind The Walled Garden Of Apartheid

Download Behind The Walled Garden of Apartheid book

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In any case, I very much enjoyed reading it. Your ability to bring your memories to life — to describe smells and sensations that are part of day-to-day life, particularly in childhood -- is a gift. Now I just want to know more about what life was like in the U.

And what has it been like living away from your home country for so many years? Well, I hope that you have plans to write more. I got more and more interested in it as it went along. I loved the quotations that opened chapters. James Brown, Historian, Samford University. I was particularly impressed by the way the author managed to convey her experiences and those of her contemporaries from the inside as it were.

I found this memoir extremely fascinating and enjoyable to read. Her insights into the diverse traditions of the South Africa people are perceptive and illuminating. Janice Roberts, Microbiologist, Jefferson State. Almost laughed out loud when I read that your Mom's remedy for a cough was a goggle moggle as that was my Mom's home cure as well.

I finished the book and really enjoyed it--such a candid look at the evolution of the country through your eyes. I marvel at the beauty and complexity of the country. I will share your memoir with other members of our staff.

I was so taken by it. Never before have I read something that related so closely to my own experience. Have you ever come across it? It's hard to find now. But your book, now, just hit the reminiscence spot! More than that I was even reminded of similarities from my own European immigrant-influenced childhood. Claire's memoir provided me with not only a fascinating insight into her life growing up in South Africa, but served too as a wonderful education of my family's history as well as South Africa's history - both of which I have mainly been unaware of up until now having left South Africa for Australia with my family at the age of 5.

Claire's powerful use of imagery throughout the memoir transports you from where ever it is you are reading it for me, a long and usually uninspiring train ride to and from work back in time and to the very places Claire is reminiscing about. You can just about smell the flowers and taste the flavours that Claire so vividly describes.

I found the stories throughout to be highly engaging as I learned more about South Africa's dark past and what it was like growing up in such a unique environment, filled with a multitude of different people and cultures, yet who lived so distinctly apart from one another some by choice, some by force. Even more intriguing was Claire's own perspective of growing up in such a place I believe 1st generation, Jewish South African in the post World War 2 era.

While the book touches on such a shameful time in South Africa's history, it is also laced with some wonderful family stories which can only bring a smile to the reader's face. I for one felt a connection to Claire's journey and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to gain new insight into my family history and South Africa's past - this has provided a real sense of my heritage and roots, and provoked thoughts of how different my life would be had my family never left South Africa for a fresh start in Australia.

One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful.

This is a well written great book. It really gives you insight on what was happening at that time. In fact, I felt like I was there. It shows the human side of the times.

Really enjoyed this book! A beautifully written memoir of growing up Jewish in south Africa, weaving in the realization by the growing child that all is not right with the society she was born into. Lovely descriptions of the locale and the child's feelings as she matures. A really good read! What a great read! Not only does this book give you brilliant visual representation of one the world's most beautiful places, but it also gives you an insight into the real struggles of this once mighty nation.

Every life has its unique rhythms and secrets and revelations.

Born in the pivotal year of , Claire was a child of the times. Her father was a Lithuanian immigrant and her mother was born in South Africa. Her father owned a store that catered to multiple races; both parents worked long hours.

Media Mint Publishing

At home, there were servants to watch the children. Claire absorbed the lessons and privileges that went with having white skin very early. She drank in her family's Jewish identity and heritage, even as Ma admonished her not to act like a greenhorn like her Pa. And while Claire's love of reading was inherited from and nurtured by two generations of strong-willed women, she was kept insulated from the harsh realities of Apartheid by equally strong whitewashed walls.

I again felt the awkward rawness of having lived in a culture of "us versus them. Growing up is shedding the blinders of childhood and seeing your world as it really is - both good and bad - and choosing to become the person you're meant to be. See all 11 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on May 27, Published on April 20, Published on March 8, Published on March 6, Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

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