And They Didn't Die: A Novel

By Lauretta Ngcobo

Book Overview

"Ngcobo writes with grace and compassion about one woman's suffering, meanwhile providing insights into Bantu village culture, the injustices of the legal system, the routines and atmosphere of black prisons, and the indomitable spirit of an oppressed people." -- Publishers Weekly

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807612634
• ISBN13: 9780807612637
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: George Braziller
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Story of Apartheid and political upheaval in South Africa

This moving novel tells the story of Jezile. Jezile marries Siyalo, but their young love is dampened by the political climate of the time. Set in the age of apartheid in S. Africa, the couple must navigate the terrain of Siyalo having to work in the city, while Jezile must remain in the countryside. He is only able to spend a few weeks a year with Jezile, and this leads to loneliness and an inability for Jezile to produce a child for sometime. The women are also prevented from visiting their husbands in the city. Add to that the fact that the men are subjected to ill treatment and unjust taxes that eat into the meagre income that they attempt to send to their families at home. This story manages to be both deeply address Jezile's struggles as a women in an unjust land, and educate the reader about the apartheid regime.