Fine lines from the box

further thoughts about our country

Plot

A collection of journalistic essays that explore the vulnerabilities and the confusions that dog our understanding of South Africa past and present. Covering a span of 18 years (from 1987–2006), they cover a range of topics: from apartheid’s dying 'fireworks display' to the often heated debate surrounding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the loss of innocence in achieving a new South Africa, Thabo Mbeki and the AIDS question, the place of English in modern South Africa, that modern icon Brenda Fassie, higher education and the liberal tradition and – most recently – the writer's 'struggle' with Jacob Zuma and the ANC Youth League. Written with insight and compassion, these pieces provide a sane history of South Africa’s recent past and explain much about what often seems a baffling present.