Introduction

Info

• page: v-vi
• place: Guguletu
• time: 1993
• people: author

Content

• On the first two pages of the novel, the author describes the murder of the American exchange student Amy Biehl in 1993 in a kind of lead-in
• Sindiwe Magona notes that in the case of a murder, the life and circumstances of the victim are usually illuminated, but rarely those of the murderer. However, in her view, the consideration of the biographical details of the perpetrator is at least as important
• For Magona it is decisive which circumstances cause murderers to act and from which motives they take action
• The author intends a shift of perspective by having the murderer's mother speak to the victim's mother with empathy about her loss, while telling the story of her child

Chapter 1

Info

• page: 1-4
• place: Guguletu
• time: unknown
• people: Mandisa

Content

• Mandisa, the mother of Amy Biehl's murderer, addresses Amy's mother directly in monologue form. She expresses her sympathy for the other mother about her loss
• What Mandisa takes the most with her are the looks of blame that face her. She is treated by her fellow citizens as if it had been she who killed the girl. But she is also confronted with accusations such as that she might have led her son to commit the crime. She clearly positions herself against these allegations by exaggerating the perverse situation of having supported her son in such a cruel act
• However, she also admits that she would not have been surprised by her son's murderous act. She asks the victim's mother to take into account the overall situation of her son in her judgement and points out that Mxolisi never had it easy from his earliest childhood on. She does not use this fact as an excuse for Mxolisi to murder the other mother's daughter. For Mandisa there is no question that murder is a sin and not right
• But Mxolisi's mother also asks the victim's mother what her daughter was doing in a township like Guguletu. It is beyond her comprehension how a white person would voluntarily expose herself to such danger. In her opinion, the dangers on the streets in Guguletu are something that black Africans should keep to themselves and everyone else should stay away from a place like this
• Finally, Mandisa argues that in her opinion it is wrong that the government is providing her son with a roof over his head now that he is in prison, but that he would have needed help before committing his crime

Chapter 2

Info

• page: 5-19
• place: Mowbray, Guguletu
• time: morning - noon on Wednesday 25th August 1993
• people: Amy Biehl, Mandisa, Mxolisi, Siziwe, Lunga, Amys friends, Reverend Mananga, Mxolisis friends

Content

• The second chapter begins by describing the morning routine of Amy Biehl in Mowbrow, a district of Cape Town. Mandisa depicts how the young student first drinks a coffee before she makes her way to university
• Then, the scene changes to Guguletu, where Mandisa and her three children prepare for the day. Since the mother of Mxolisi, Lunga and Siziwe has to leave for work early, she is driven by time pressure to get all her children ready for school
• Although Mandisa knows that her children, except for her daughter Siziwe, will probably not go to school, she admonishes them to go to school and meet her back home at the end of the day. She assigns her children various tasks, such as not to touch the dinner for the evening. Even though Mandisa knows that her children will do what they want anyway, it is important for her to exercise her authority as a mother
• Back in Mowbrow, Amy recapitulates her time in the townships on her way to university. She can't believe how fast the time went by and that she's already supposed to say goodbye to her dear friends. For her, her departure is "bitter sweet" (p. 9, l. 29): on one hand she's looking forward to returning home very soon and on the other hand she finds it difficult to say goodbye to her fellow students
• Mandisa speaks about Operation Barcelona, which is "a campaign [...] [supporting] [...] teachers who are on strike" (p. 10, l. 9f). In a way, the campaign recommends that pupils stay away from school and instead demonstrate their rebellion against the system, for example by setting cars on fire
• Instead of attending school, Mxolisi meets his friends and they start to march through Guguletu, while they communicate in Xhosa, a South African language with click sounds. In "two enormous branches" (p. 11, l. 26) the group is heading towards St. Mary Magdalene's Church
• Amongst her friends, Amy finds it arduous to say goodbye to them. So she decides to give them a ride home to Guguletu. Her friends advise her not to go to the townships with them, but Amy does not let herself be dissuaded
• Back in Guguletu Mxolisi and his friends meet Reverend Mananga in front of St. Mary Madgdalene's Church and would like to hold a meeting in the community hall. Mananga has to refuse them the request, but offers that they could use the community hall for their meeting the next morning at 9 AM
• The group around Mxolisi moves further out of town and as they march through the streets to their traditional war dance toyi-toyi, they come across a burning car that has previously been set alight by rebels. The boys anticipate the vehicle was "probably making a delivery to the TB clinic" (p. 16, l. 17), TB stands for Tuberculosis. As "police sirens sounded" (p. 16, l. 26), the group leaves the scene very quickly
• After a brief discussion about the course of their campaign through the village so far, the group splits up into smaller groups according to the individual home destination
• As they reach the police station they lower their voices and for the remaining members it's time to go separate ways for the night
• Meanwhile, Amy and her friends enter Guguletu in a small "yellow Mazda" (p. 19, l. 2) and her fellow students sing the song "We shall overcome" before they all fall into silence
• Mxolisi and his friends have now reached the crossroads not far from his home, where a yellow car is surrounded by a mob of rebels who are raising their fists in anger and shouting their discontent

Chapter 3

Info

• page: 20-39
• place: Guguletu
• time: 5.15 PM on Wednesday 25th August 1993
• people: Mandisa, Mrs. Nelson, people on the bus, bus driver, Siziwe

Content

• The scenery changes to the home of Mandisa's boss, Mrs Nelson. Even though Mrs. Nelson knows Mandisa's actual name, she keeps on calling her Mandy. The lady of the house enters and asks Mandisa to "grab [her] bag" (p. 29, l. 7), as she wants to bring her to the bus station
• Mandisa is very surprised by this request as it is still the middle of the day and on Wednesdays Mrs. Nelson usually needs her all day as this is her day off
• The reason Mrs Nelson gives for her sudden desire to take her servant to the bus station is that there would be riots in Guguletu
• The bus station is crowded with waiting travellers. Mandisa can only get onto her bus with great effort and strength. The people on the bus tell, that "Guguletu is completely surrounded" (p. 26, l. 19) and it's quite difficult to get into town
• As Mandisa travels home by bus, she remembers her arrival as a teenager in Guguletu and how neglected and desperately poor the township already was back then. She had previously lived in Blouvlei, which is in the west of Cape Town. Mxolisi's mother describes how difficult it was for her and her sister to get a school place in the overcrowded schools of Guguletu. Fortunately "both Kaya and [her] were such good students, [their] teachers sneaked [them] in" (p. 31, l. 17f)
• In the course of her own experiences as a pupil of Guguletu, Mandisa points out once again that even today "there are not enough schools or teachers in Guguletu to accommodate all the children." (p. 32, l. 12f)
• Shortly before Mandisas bus stop, the mother learns from a fellow passenger that students from Belville were attacked and violently beaten down by rebels from the township in Guguletu. When Mandisa hears exactly where the accident took place, it goes straight through her, as the crime scene is only a short distance from her home
• Only with great difficulty does Mxolisi's mother manage to make her way through the crowds of people blocking the way at her bus stop and in front of the crime scene. Mandisa is especially worried about her daughter Siziwe, so she is all the more relieved when she sees her waiting at her front door