Before Mandela's Rainbow

FUNNIER THAN ADRIAN MOLE AND FAR SEXIER! Does not skirt round the vast injustice of apartheid SUPERB MEMOIR Joffe is a man sui generis. Impish at times, but always interesting. Memorable and well written! AN INTIMATE, FUNNY, AND PROFOUND PERSONAL HISTORY Reading this funny, clever, sometimes vicious portrayal of growing up in Johannesburg in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, I found myself reminded of Blakes line To see a world in a grain of sand. This is because Joffe, in writing a detailed and often very amusing account of his personal adventures and misadventures, captures also the texture of the broader environment, the brutal decades of racist horror of his native land. Joffe relates events with the engaging rhythm of all great story tellers - there are villains like sadistic teachers and fatuous fathers-in-law, there are lost adolescents in pursuit of sex and meaning, there are coming of age crises and triumphs, and an almost Dickensian host of memorable, often quirky, family members and friends. Read it, and you will see what I mean. Read it and youll laugh frequently. Read it and youll better understand the last 80 years of South African history. BRILLIANT MEMOIR Fascinating portrait of life in pre-Mandela South Africa, packed with very fine vignettes. A page-turning account of adolescence and the pains of growing up. Source: Amazon customer reviews