A review by val_halla
Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked, by Ivan Vladislavić

5.0

I know this is an excellent book, because every other page I was inspired to pick up my camera and go document my own city! The descriptions of Johannesburg were so vivid that I feel as though I've visited the city myself, even though I've never been to South Africa. As Vladislavic included dialogue and his own feelings, I was able to learn how the effects of apartheid have damaged the country to this day. Through my rose-colored American-made glasses, I only saw the rainbows and national pride, but of course a nation can't recover from apartheid so quickly. The cities are still divided by barbed wire fences, and it's obvious that the author feels very paranoid whenever he is surrounded by black people. It's not a legal separation, but people who were treated like dogs for their entire lives cannot possibly turn around and form a harmonious democracy right away.