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A few weeks ago, as I looked at the list of readings for my Doctor of Ministry program, I saw that a book was available in audio form. The book was Kaffir Boy<\/em><\/strong> by Mark Mathabane. Upon downloading it, I saw that the book was a daunting 18 hours and 33 minutes in length. I began to listen to it immediately, knowing that it would take me several weeks to complete.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The book is Mathabane\u2019s autobiography of his life in South Africa. Born in the ghetto of Alexandra, one of the black communities that provided cheap labor to white South Africans in Johannesburg, the author tells a harrowing story of abject poverty and oppression.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The book is very well written. The sights, sounds, and smells of life in apartheid South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s were portrayed in vivid detail. Some of the parts of Mathabane\u2019s life that were the most memorable included:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are obvious advantages to listening to an audio book as opposed to reading. The primary ones are connected to multi-tasking. You can listen to the book while driving down the highway or working out at the gym. Yet for this book, there was another advantage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kaffir Boy<\/u><\/em><\/strong> was read by the author. From the first sentence, you hear Mathabane\u2019s rich voice and South African accent. His pronunciation of the word \u201capartheid\u201d was different than the one I knew (\u0259-\u02c8p\u00e4r-\u02cct\u0101t), but obviously the more authentic one. His cadence was slow and deliberate. Stories were told with intensity and drama. When he spoke of starvation as a young child, you could hear the pain in his voice. When he spoke of being trapped by sexual predators, you could hear the horror in his voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I believe that the greatest advantage to listening to Kaffir Boy, as opposed to reading it, is clearly understood when the book talks about his mother, father, grandmother, police officers, local gang members, etc. Mathabane is an accomplished storyteller and imitates the voices of the characters while reading. After listening to Kaffir Boy, I have a good idea what the author\u2019s mother sounds like. I also know what it is like to be cursed at and threatened by an angry police officer. \u00a0A loving grandmother\u2019s voice is also clearly heard.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Akin to this is Mathabane\u2019s own voice as a child. His rich voice is replaced by his childlike voice when he tells stories from his childhood.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All in all, Kaffir Boy<\/em><\/strong> is a well-written window into the life of a survivor. Hearing his own word in his own voice is highly recommended.<\/p>\n\n
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