Reviews for The burden of the present

The average rating for The burden of the present based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-02-08 00:00:00 Justin Montgomery Working for the BBC Keane recounts the last few years of Apartheid and the rising tides of violence as the political fractions struggle for power. His humanity and sense of history make this a moving witness to the coming of democracy in S.A. From the fly leaf this is a book “haunted by the shadows of the nameless dead, but always alive to the promise of the future”. The book is peppered with beautiful observations like the author’s last line. As he observes Mandela take the hand of de Klerk after the former’s inauguration as president, “This is the end and the beginning, this is the victory of decency and common sense, it is the victory of all South Africans.” He also warns that if some economic prosperity doesn’t filter down there will be problems.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-03-13 00:00:00 Anetra Nabozna This book contains the most chilling passage I have ever read in a book. I will dig it out from my boxes some time and quote it. It concerns an experience the writer had one night in Thokoza, one of the most violent townships in South Africa in the last years of Apartheid. It was an image that lived with me for ages afterwards.