Scan barcode
A review by stephwd
Journey to Jo'burg: A South African Story by Beverley Naidoo
4.0
‘Journey to Jo’burg’ narrates the story of Naledi and Tiro who are cared for by their grandmother in the small village whilst their mother works in Jo’burg as a maid in order to earn enough money for her precious family to survive. However, when their little sister falls ill, the family have no means of acquiring medicine or help for her. Naledi and Tiro therefore determine to travel to the city in order to find their mother and thereby save their sister.
Their precarious journey takes them across the perilous countryside where to be caught stealing food or even to be without their work cards could result in their death. Even when they reach Jo’burg, there is no guarantee that they will find their mother amidst the danger of the town and even if they do, whether they will be able to return in time to save their sibling.
This is a short novella that is aimed at young children (probably Year 5, 6 or 7) and there is much to recommend it. It provides us with an insight into struggles of life in South Africa as well as the difficulties its most innocent occupants face as a result of apartheid. Moreover, in focusing on a single personal story it enables children to relate to the difficulties that young people of their own age faced as a result of civil unrest and racist attitudes. Yet it does so in a subtle way, avoiding the grotesque horrors that it could well have addressed and which novels such as ‘Trash’ (see my earlier review) dwell on in such disturbing detail that it becomes inappropriate and lurid. Personally, the novel also recalled for me my own journey from Johannesburg to Klerksorp and then up through to Namibia albeit under very different circumstances. However, Naidoo does brilliantly capture the landscape of the country and its stark contrast to the confusing bustle of the city.
It is also worth noting that, written in 1985, when South Africa was still a country riddled with racism and political corruption (although some would argue that not enough has changed to completely eradicate this indictments) and at a time when Mandela was still imprisoned, this was the first children’s novel to address these issues. It is therefore an incredibly brave novel, which is ultimately based on fact (the introduction to the text I read, cited several examples of lost children who literally hunted the country for their parents and did on a small number of wonderful occasions, miraculously find them).
What is more, the novel seems to have a deeply metaphorical element: the 300 kilometre journey the children undertake is symbolic of their journey into enlightenment as they come to realise the devastated nature of their landscape and begin a process of maturation; the very fact that they find their mother and are able to save their sister, acts as a beacon of hope perhaps illustrative of the author’s own hope for the reunification of South Africa and the restoration of equality. It is undoubtedly simple and the quality of the writing perhaps a little too didactic in that it sometimes seems to be explicitly saying to the reader look at this, I want to teach you a lesson about the struggles of the South African people and the abuse of children.
Having said this, that is no bad thing. I have taught lessons on Nelson Mandela, perhaps one of the greatest and most inspiring political and cultural figures of the modern age and had an entire class of 30 14 year olds stare blankly at me without any notion of what he did, suffered or achieved.
It is easy to forget how insulated young people are from recent history or any news that does not specifically affect them. As such, books such as ‘Journey to Jo’burg’ are essential in providing a gateway for them and exposing them to the reality of the world that surrounds them and it does achieve this in much the same way as a novel such as ‘The Kite Runner’ did for adult audiences concerning Afghanistan in 2003. This is therefore a text that could well be used to introduce young people to a world with which they are entirely unfamiliar, to a world where hardship reigns supreme and a world where the colour of your skin can result in separation and persecution, it is inspiring and heart-warming and well worth the read.
Their precarious journey takes them across the perilous countryside where to be caught stealing food or even to be without their work cards could result in their death. Even when they reach Jo’burg, there is no guarantee that they will find their mother amidst the danger of the town and even if they do, whether they will be able to return in time to save their sibling.
This is a short novella that is aimed at young children (probably Year 5, 6 or 7) and there is much to recommend it. It provides us with an insight into struggles of life in South Africa as well as the difficulties its most innocent occupants face as a result of apartheid. Moreover, in focusing on a single personal story it enables children to relate to the difficulties that young people of their own age faced as a result of civil unrest and racist attitudes. Yet it does so in a subtle way, avoiding the grotesque horrors that it could well have addressed and which novels such as ‘Trash’ (see my earlier review) dwell on in such disturbing detail that it becomes inappropriate and lurid. Personally, the novel also recalled for me my own journey from Johannesburg to Klerksorp and then up through to Namibia albeit under very different circumstances. However, Naidoo does brilliantly capture the landscape of the country and its stark contrast to the confusing bustle of the city.
It is also worth noting that, written in 1985, when South Africa was still a country riddled with racism and political corruption (although some would argue that not enough has changed to completely eradicate this indictments) and at a time when Mandela was still imprisoned, this was the first children’s novel to address these issues. It is therefore an incredibly brave novel, which is ultimately based on fact (the introduction to the text I read, cited several examples of lost children who literally hunted the country for their parents and did on a small number of wonderful occasions, miraculously find them).
What is more, the novel seems to have a deeply metaphorical element: the 300 kilometre journey the children undertake is symbolic of their journey into enlightenment as they come to realise the devastated nature of their landscape and begin a process of maturation; the very fact that they find their mother and are able to save their sister, acts as a beacon of hope perhaps illustrative of the author’s own hope for the reunification of South Africa and the restoration of equality. It is undoubtedly simple and the quality of the writing perhaps a little too didactic in that it sometimes seems to be explicitly saying to the reader look at this, I want to teach you a lesson about the struggles of the South African people and the abuse of children.
Having said this, that is no bad thing. I have taught lessons on Nelson Mandela, perhaps one of the greatest and most inspiring political and cultural figures of the modern age and had an entire class of 30 14 year olds stare blankly at me without any notion of what he did, suffered or achieved.
It is easy to forget how insulated young people are from recent history or any news that does not specifically affect them. As such, books such as ‘Journey to Jo’burg’ are essential in providing a gateway for them and exposing them to the reality of the world that surrounds them and it does achieve this in much the same way as a novel such as ‘The Kite Runner’ did for adult audiences concerning Afghanistan in 2003. This is therefore a text that could well be used to introduce young people to a world with which they are entirely unfamiliar, to a world where hardship reigns supreme and a world where the colour of your skin can result in separation and persecution, it is inspiring and heart-warming and well worth the read.