ebooks We Are Not Such Things: The Murder of a Young American; a South African Township; and the Search for Truth and Reconciliation by Justine van der Leun in History

Review

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful. An often accurate and astute portrayal of South Africa; but indulgent and undisciplined in length; unfair in partsBy eric hassallI’m a white; former South African (liberal; anti-apartheid activist; left in 1975) who knows the country and Cape Town; and worked in the townships and District Six as a medical student and an intern at the University of Cape Town’s teaching hospitals. Therefore I was naturally drawn to read this book.The author; an American visiting South Africa with her SA-born husband; manages to get under the skin of South Africa; below the apparent truths; specifically of a particular event at a particular time in the country’s history - the senseless; non-political; brutal murder by a mob; of Amy Biehl; an idealistic 26-year-old American woman who was working for a better South Africa for people of color and especially women; during the transition to black rule under Nelson Mandela. In August 1993; the month of Amy’s murder; the country was on fire.Some of the descriptions of violence; including the actual murder of Ms Biehl are profoundly disturbing on many levels. The author captures the mood of the times and of the mobs. In addition; through her descriptions of the real-life characters in the book; she paints an accurately wrenching picture of the often grinding misery; depradation; struggles; and everyday violence and death that was and is life in the ‘non-white’ townships – among the many consequences and legacies of apartheid. Into the story the author weaves South African history for context; and discusses the Truth Reconciliation Commission – its purposes and complex outcomes for different individuals.To read this book as a former South African is to be catapulted back into the turmoil and hate and incomprehensible brutality and injustices of apartheid; that led so many of us to leave; but also into present-day South Africa; 22 years after Mandela’s ANC came to power. One of the author’s astute observations about current South Africa was this; in reference to an episode of road rage she experienced: “…South Africans were outraged – about race relations; corruption; ineptitude; money; class; politics. Beneath a thin veneer of good manners; the whole society was teeming with tension and entitlement; where people packed pistols and where everyone was perceived as either a potential perpetrator or a potential victim. Perhaps for these reasons; and because the cops rarely enforced traffic laws and took bribes South Africans were notoriously aggressive; reckless drivers.”Unfortunately; one has to dig through a lot of dross to get to a nugget like that; because the book is way way too long - unnecessarily so - and reading it was an exercise in frustration and exasperation.First; it oversells itself on the central topic. It presents itself as having unearthed major new truths about the day and circumstances of Amy Biehl’s death. The reader keeps wondering; 'OK; where is the meat; when will she cut to the chase?' So; it turns out - after much broad hinting along the way - that one of the guys who claimed to have taken part in the killing of Ms Biehl turned out to have confessed in order to protect / cover for his younger brother; who was in fact one of the killers. And - earlier that same day in a township nearby; there was a brutal attack on a white man; a city electrical worker; by some of the same mob; an event barely reported until now. The author tracks down this history and the individual himself; a man who is white; but yet another casualty of apartheid. While the story and journey of discovery are of interest; now; almost 25 yrs later they are not discoveries of consequence. No-one will be charged or released.While the author did indeed go to enormous lengths to uncover heretofore unknown facts; unfortunately she presents every detail (so it seems) of her journey of discovery with mind-numbingly excessive detail and repetition. Repeated visits to the townships; repeated and endlessly detailed descriptions of the townships (just a few would have sufficed); non-pertinent details of peoples’ lives and relationships; clothes; furniture; living rooms; where people hang the pictures on the walls in the townships; etc. Proper editing should have reduced this book in length by some 50%; and its impact would have been that much greater. Decent editing would have also picked up some errors of fact and sloppy sentences – though these are minor comments in the overall scheme of things.In addition; the author comes across as mean-spirited about a central figure in the book – Amy’s mother; Linda Biehl. Linda Biehl is woman whose daughter – educated; smart; humble; gracious; idealistic; spirited; committed; accomplished - was murdered at the age of 26 years in a horrific; gratuitously brutal manner by a mindless mob; for the crime of being a white person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Imagine being the parent of a young woman who is bludgeoned and stabbed to death – a half a world away from your family’s world in California. Yet Linda and Peter Biehl and their family journeyed frequently to South Africa; and repeatedly and consistently acted with grace and kindness and a generosity of spirit and forgiving and financial donation. They learned about the country and its complex history and problems. They reached out to Amy’s killers; forgave them; employed them; set up the Amy Biehl Foundation in Amy’s memory to honor her ideals; to try and continue her work. While acknowledging the facts of all this; the author often writes disparagingly of Linda Biehl’s demeanor and appearance; the author displaying her impatience / suspicion of Linda; in effect; the author second-guesses the grief; motivation and coping mechanisms of a bereaved parent. Linda then suffers another loss when her husband Peter dies at the age of 59 of colon cancer.Compared with her attitude toward Linda Biehl; in some ways the author appears to show greater affinity and affection for some of the shady characters and killers in her story. She has osmosed the South African condition; and evinces it.Eric Hassall MDSan Francisco; CA4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Account; But A Bit Longer Than NecessaryBy DanI worked in South Africa from 1990 to 1994 and spent a lot of time there in the 1970s. I spoke with Amy Biehl about working on voter education a couple days before she was murdered and I worked with most of the leaders mentioned in the book. For me; it was painful to revisit the events of that time; but think the author did an outstanding job of capturing the atmosphere at that time. It is very Cape Town centric; so it misses some very interesting developments in other parts of the country that were taking place at that time; but she does an excellent job of covering a small area. That is in sharp contrast to the majority of foreigners; especially Americans; who saw events in South Africa as merely a continuation of the civil rights struggle in the U.S. My only criticisms are that it could have been at least 100 pages shorter and; in spite of promising new insights; she doesn't reveal anything new. Even the attack on the city worker earlier in the day that is supposed to be the key to revealing some startling truth is not new. I remember it. It was; unfortunately; not particularly unique at that time; so it did not attract the kind of attention Amy Biehl's murder did. It also didn't provide the ANC with a powerful propaganda tool with which to beat the PAC. The author worked hard to uncover some startling revelation; but she failed to uncover very much. Nevertheles; it is a fine account of an exciting; but painful time in recent South African history.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful writing; intriguing subjectBy TechnophileThis is not only one of the best books I've read on South Africa ( I've read plenty); but one of the best books I've read recently; period. (And no; I'm not a friend of the author's; nor did I receive a free copy!) With an open mind; an open heart and an ever-open notebook; Justine van der Leun; an outsider; manages to capture the texture of contemporary South African life; with all its confusing and heart-breaking contradictions; better than just about anyone I can think of. And her reinvestigation of the Amy Biehl case is a real eye-opener and reality check; even for those of us who are familiar with that story (or thought we were). What drives this narrative is the author's attention to detail; her curiosity; her compassion; and the vivid cast of characters she introduces us to. Wonderful writing; to be savored for its own sake.