Khayelitsha: uMlungu in a Township

by Steven Otter

Ignoring advice from his white friends, and to the bemusement of his black friends, Steven Otter throws caution to the wind and moves into Khayelitsha, a black township outside Cape Town.

Genres: Nonfiction, South Africa, Africa, Biography, Biography Memoir

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my hopes stacked high for this book. I'd waited ages for the paperback to come out, had been a fervent ANC supporter as a teenager, nearly moved to Cape Town to send my son to a school there ten or so years ago, and at that time went to Khayelitsha. This is the feeder township of black workers some 30km or so in the dust plains outside of Cape Town. It is a mixture of an established community and an informal settlement of tribal peoples living very poorly in anything they can find to build four walls and a roof.

The book didn't deliver. It's a shallow work by a journalist who moved to Khayelitsha because it offered cheap accommodation and, he hoped, a chance to really 'be African' in the black African sense. It could have been wonderful. What emerged was a story of a camaraderie between men playing pool and drinking a lot. Not really an experience that is unique to the township or even Africa. There appeared to be no intellectual life, no work except for shebeens, food stores, second-hand furniture and taxi-ing. All there was, it seemed, was a subsistence life of no education, just drinking and eating, promiscuity and AIDS and above all crime. Still, it fulfilled the author who felt more truly African there than anywhere else. Sad.

I can't say I know Khayelitsha well, but when I was there I saw a lot of very enterprising people with small businesses. One man was making flowers from tin cans that sold in Liberty's in London, another was carving exquisite furniture, a woman was running a breakfast-and-lunch box kitchen for school children, another had a lean-to, corrugated iron and found-wood guest house for adventurous whites looking for the 'real township experience' for a night or two (she was featured on Oprah!) There were schools, clinics, intellectual and musical societies, sports, chess and martial arts clubs, radio stations and churches, especially the Roman Catholic one which was very active in building up businesses. In short, all the elements of a society that was doing its best to move on up.

I don't know what the word or phrase for it is, but the opposite is when someone black moves entirely into white culture and abandons their own and are then generally sneered at by whites and despised by blacks. I think the White US phrase is being an 'Uncle Tom' and the Black one, an "oreo cookie". That's what the author seems to have done and takes his greatest pleasure in being called black 'inside' by living the most average, impoverished inner-city life he could have experienced among all races in any city in the world It isn't non-racism, it is an expression of it that is benign but still suspect.

I'm not unfamiliar with this mind-set. Sometimes British, or more rarely American, girls come here for sailing, sea, and to smoke something that makes feel extra sexy, finds themselves a rasta who is very good in bed (we aren't talking intellectual companionship here) falls in love and gets married. They move to the rasta's village, start wearing long skirts and growing long, matted hair they wrap into turbans and acquire the thickest sort of local accent and go to work for their man who finds even vegetable-growing imposes on his hanging-out-with-the-boys lifestyle.

Very rarely do these marriages endure for more than two children when the woman leaves and returns home, fed up with his unfaithfulness and the huge difference in culture. Middle class, educated upbringing versus wilfully ignorant and deliberately poor (prefers to live at a subsistence level rather than do more than the minimum, she can support him). I know two, exactly like this. One of them, a Swedish woman really went local. She had five children by her rasta and he had three more with several other women. The eldest of her children is now 25, the eldest of her three or four grandchildren, 11. This is not to say that all black-white relationships are like this, far from it, these are the minority. The majority of us who marry locally, marry much the same sort of men we would have married at home.

I didn't not enjoy the book, but I kept hoping the next chapter would produce the depth and insight into a culture mostly foreign to me. But no, it was another shebeen, another shack, another victory at the pool table, so in the end, I was glad finish the book, leaving the author playing in his universal boys' club and mistaking it for some kind of deep African cultural truth.

Read 16 Sept. 2011.
Rewritten 21 Nov. 2015.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly pretty disappointed with this book. The author seemed to be misogynistic, sexist and fatphobic based on his descriptions of Black African women, and only Black African women. The writing was disjointed and poorly done. It just felt like a white man patting himself on the back.

[Lieke Van Eekelen · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Okay so this book has clichés after clichés. For example, when talking about the Netherlands he writes: "Perhaps she is riding a bicycle to the cheese shop." For me a book is just less interestig when a lot of clichés are involved in the writing.

- I hoped to gain a better understanding of township life in South Africa. However I feel like Otter could have dove deeper in it. It stayed very superficial for most time. Maybe because he still is the outsider?

- Not a clear line in the book at all, just loose fragments not really adding to each other.
Could add more about the ideologie of Ubuntu, only comes forward a little throughout the book. Only adressen is specificly when he is talking about Europe.

+ Quick read

+ Honest and direct about his struggles with race and racism

Overal, okay

[Signe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true story of a very curageous white South African, who ventures to live in the sprawling black Township Khayelitsha next to Cape Town. He has to deal with all his white friends' and colleagues' apartheid hangovers in the form of often not even conscious prejidice, as well as coming face to face with his own.

He learns about UBUNTU and community spirit and gets more conscious about his own culture as well as the Xhosa, seeing as Khayelitsha is predominantly Xhosa. This teaches him new and important values and he makes friends to last a lifetime.

This book caught my attension in the bookstore because I have a friend who lives in Khayelitsha, so I, myself, have spent some time there. However, even without first hand knowledge of the township in question it is well worth reading.

[Giuliano · Rating 2 out of 5]

bro basically got drunk and played pool in a township for a few years and overcame his racism through that. Unfortunately, there isn't really much more to it as the author doesn't follow a distinguishable thread in his telling and ends up putting the evil west™ in the 'them' role. for someone not familiar with modern south African society there's still quite a bit in there, although I hoped for more.

(painfully ironic, the author got stabbed in the suburb he then lived in in 2016)

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fascinating account of a white journalist who moved to Khayelitsha, the largest Black township in Cape Town (~1.3 million people). It follows his experiences there and his own personal transformation living in this vibrant place.

I read it while in South Africa, and it gives me hope. As I am planning to go back to do research in the townships there, it also has helped me have a better picture of township life (a great enhancement to a township tour and friends from there) and makes me feel a lot more comfortable picturing our time there.

[Barry Levy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Easy reading and yet loaded with insightful philosophies about life and culture that give the book a resonant depth. Also a bit nostalgic, in that it reminded me of my own excursions into the townships - except that Otter comes with a much more naive and innocent view, which makes both him and almost everything about the townships and its people seem much easier going than some of my ventures there. Definitely liveable. Definitely they did become the 'people's place'. Definitely the people there know poverty but are possessed of generosity.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me rethink some of my ideas, and gave me a picture into a world I don't know much about. I found it very readable and engaging

[Elintext · Rating 3 out of 5]

När jag först läste denna bodde jag i Kapstaden och fascinerades av Khayelitsha som jag besökte med min praktikorganisation emellanåt. Jag ville veta allt, ville förstå mer. Som vit, europeisk kvinna kändes det svårt att uppleva området mer autentiskt, men en man kan förstås ta sig andra friheter. Hade en svart person skrivit hade det förstås varit att föredra framför en utomståendes perspektiv.

Jag har svårt att minnas hur jag uppfattade boken vid första läsningen. Det känns lite som att författaren är på safari, lite kåkstadsporr, lite alienerande. Och kvinnosynen är inte så fräsch. Det är en ganska ytlig skildring av en ganska ytlig tillvaro. Trots att författaren är journalist saknas djupare analyser eller kontextualisering.

Gillar den fragmentariska stilen, samtidigt som det är svårt att greppa författarens liv.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir filled with hope and self-reflection about race in South Africa. When Steven Otter, an Afrikaaner, decides to live in one of the poorest townships near Capetown, it's to save money, but he soon realizes it is to expand his humanity, humility and take responsibility for the racism inherited from his ancestors. Fascinating read, eye-opening and engaging. A great narrative to learn how to respectfully learn about people and their culture.

[Iain stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Like Steven, I found that I feel more proudly South African after returning to my ancestral home (United States). Really made me feel nostalgic for home and a good book for those wanting to somewhat understand the tensions and relations between people in South Africa

[Thomas Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, where to start. First I will say that at times, this book was interesting, but only at times. Then, let's move on to the most basic criticism, the shitty writing. This book felt like it was very confused - is it a collection of self-sustaining essays? Is it a narrative of his time in Khayelitsha? I just don't know. There were some chapters that came completely out of left field and felt like they had nothign to do with anything (take, for example, the one about the "township snort," which kind of felt like a waste of paper), but then there were other chapters that referred to character that you could only identify if you had read the previous chapters. I had no idea of the passage of time, and the whole thing just felt really sloppy. Moving on. This guy, even after upheaving his deeply rooted racism by living in a township, clearly didn't get it. He expressed shock or some sort of displeasure when a black man in Holland didn't respond to a traditional greeting from Khayelitsha. So...a black man from Northern Europe would be familiar with a greeting used in a Cape Town township...why? Because...all black people, around the world, are the same? What the fuck? Seriously. I can't help but wonder if the same greeting would be recognized in Soweto, let alone a country on the other side of the globe. Then he went on to talk about the failings of European culture as compared to the Xhosa culture he encountered in Khaya. OK....because Europe is one country, with one culture? Don't countless people from this massive continent of Africa complain about people referring to Africa as one country, not a continent composed of many countries with even more different cultures? Soo...surely the same thing applies to Europe, which is in fact a continent with many different continents as well? No? Because the writer certainly didn't seem to grasp that the ''European" culture he had so many problems with might not be the same as the cultures in Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, Greece, etc....And how about saying again and again that his Xhosa friends expressed no resentment towards his people for the atrocities committed during apartheid, yet in one of the earliest chapters he wrote about a friend of his never regretting killing an Afrikaaner because he hates the Boer? Ummm....doesn't the complete lack of remorse for killing someone due to their ethnic background indicate some sort of resentment? No? Perhaps forgiveness was the norm for many of his friends, but come one. And, perhaps I am really nitpicky, but it's moments like the ones I just described (and these are just a few examples of the problems I had with the book) that really put me off.

I only read this book because my boyfriend's coworker said it "changed her life" and "opened her eyes," so I kept on reading in the hope that it would get better, but it really didn't. Truly disappointing, because considering the subject matter it could have been great in the hands of a better writer. It felt like he published his journal (I really didn't need to hear about him hooking up with some chick and losing his boner when her sister started knocking on the door) and tried to pass it off as meaningful because he was a white man who moved into the township. There were occasional moments of decency where I felt like he (and I) walked away with some greater understanding of the cultural and racial strife in South Africa, but the instances of blatant ignorance throughout the book annoyed me too much to enjoy them at all. Poo poo!

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just visited Khayelitsha on my first trip to S.A., I read this book on the long plane-rides home. I was fascinated by the township phenomenon and post-apartheid legacy, so the book gave me a little window into this world from a European cultural perspective. The author treats several themes, but I found the most interesting the contrast between Western individualism, a product of the Enlightenment, and African ubuntu 'collectivism', a concept built into the Xhosa language: ubu- [noun class 14, denoting an abstract concept] + -ntu 'person'. It would be an oversimplification to think that this concept alone gets the job done--for example, as Otter explains, the maturation ordeal from the Xhosa homeland in the Eastern Cape is still preserved: boys coming of age return to the bush to learn the rules of adult life from their elders. (They also learn to lose their foreskin without flinching, a skill happily required only once.) What does the reader learn? For one, the Enlightenment may have set the stage for technological advancement and cosmopolitanism, but it came with the price of isolation, obsession with material wealth, and anxiety. The Xhosa may lack those post-Enlightenment "advantages," but they gain by living in the world with greater emotional intelligence.

[Sukaina Alali · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a window into the lives of people in Khalyelitsha, which continued to increasingly interest me throughout the book. It is, indeed, astonishing to see those black people loving and accepting of a white African who should represent to them the years of apartheid. And I certainly enjoyed gaining knowledge of the culture and language of Xhosa people. It was a reading with great difficulty though, as the writing style did not succeed in attracting me, and the only reason I continued reading is because I was interested in the topic itself, and the fact that I had lived in both Cape Town and the Netherlands made this book become a personal interest to me. There were many times where I forced myself to continue, especially through some unimportant stories. There were, however, some enjoyable pieces here and there. The book, in general, failed to reach my expectations, so did the author himself. It annoys me to a great level the passive role he had taken in his years in the township. He mentions that he left the Netherlands because he did not feel that his contribution to the society was needed or recognised, given the advances in the modern life there, but frankly, I fail to see where he contributed positively in the township. I don't consider it a fascinating book, but it is still an interesting read.

[Zubayr Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the stage of my life that I'm currently in, I'm trying to showcase as much love for all belonging to mankind. From an early age, we, as South Africans, without us knowing, are taught to hate each other. Maybe it's because of the imbalances of the past that continue to resurface, or ultimately it's because of the adults in our lives who can't seem to let go. I'm an advocate for colour blindness, and most of us, unknowingly, place ourselves in different categories. It was only until I started high school thay I realised how ignorant I had been all my life with regards to race. This novel has reassured me that, we, South Africans, can live in harmony and peace. Just like the author, I have met so many beautiful souls, irrespective of the colour of their skin. This is such a beautiful story. We should all strive to achieve a better sense of a South African identity. These days everybody wants to be a critic. Instead of knocking down, Steven Otter, the author for not focusing on aspects other than: crime, AIDS, promiscuity, public transport, etc. We should salute him for having the courage to live in a predominantly previously disadvantaged informal settlement. Steven Otter I salute you! It is because of people like you that I have hope for South Africa. May we all be as colour blind as you are. And may we all be reminded that THERE IS ONLY ONE RACE; THE HUMAN RACE

[Vilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little preachy, but a very insightful, well written book. Unlike many memoirs, which are written by people who are sharing experiences, Steven Otter knows not only how to share experiences, but how to write about them as well. You can see him crafting his narrative, using strategies to show the reader how funny/scary/heartwarming a situation may be. These writing skills made me feel more "in the moment" with the author.

I love how he goes into such depth about the people of Khayelitsha, but he commits the "liberal crime" of showing how they are ALL (without exception) warm, caring people, despite the reputation of townships, whereas ALL white people (without exception) are still quite prejudiced and racist. I liked his depiction of how he personally struggled with his own shaping and changing attitudes towards black Africans, but I have a hard time believing that NONE of the black people he knew resented any white people. After all, as Otter says time and again, they're human, too. Don't they have flaws?

[Meryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book after spending several months in South Africa and working with an entrepreneur in the township of Langa. I figured that learning from Otter's first hand experience would give me an inside look into the the unknown world of every day life in the townships. Khayelitsha is Cape Town's most famous and largest township, and it is one that is often known for its violence and gangs.

While I found Otter's book to be interesting, I had difficulty reading it given the poor writing style. In general, Otter's stream of conscious writing is confusing and tedious to follow. He has many great stories of his friends and life in Khaya, but they often get muddled in confusing reading. At the same time, I commend his effort to portray and honest opinion of living in a South African township. Quite frankly, this book is one of a kind and until another one is written with clearer read-ability, I would still recommend it for an inside look into the Xhosa world of ubuntu and community.

[Cyretha · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Khayelitsha" is an intriguing look into how one person wanted to experience the life of his fellow countrymen in South Africa. It was interesting to read about Steven Otter's experiences in the township. I think if we all could take the time to walk in someone else's space that is different from our own, the world might have less problems.

While this book gives a view into life in a South African township, I often found the chapters to be a little bit disjointed. This was a bit surprising as the author was a journalist. Also some of the chapters felt like little short stories within the book.

In the end, I view this book as a way to try and understand life in the township and the dynamics which rule over South African politics.

[Demi Penders · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is impossible to live in Cape Town without meeting people from Khayelitsha, as it is the biggest township with almost 2 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, you won't get the full Khayelitsha experience, without living there. Along with listening to the stories of my Xhosa and in Khayelitsha living colleagues, reading this book is as close as I can get to getting the Khayelitsha experience at this moment, and man.. it made me homesick to a place I have never been able to call home.

Defenitely a must-read! (Especially for anyone visiting Cape Town or South Africa in general)

[Aki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follows the life of a white South African's time in the Capetown township Khayelitsha, living amongst his black countrymen. Steven deals with his prejudices and we see the community and relationships inside life in a township. I liked Steven for his honest storytelling and for truly trying to integrate himself into the community.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Worth reading; opened my eyes to some of the culture in SA that I don't get to see very often. However, I don't think I'd read it again... but I would definitely recommend it to a LOT of people.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting recount of a white man's life in Khayelitsha. Easy to read, well told and very interesting

[Recato · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope I don't get to write this down on this site again. South Africa does not have a State President!

[Lauli]

good

[Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ubuntu lives proud and strong in Khaya, according to Steve. This book warmed my heart and made me homesick.

[Matt Kuhns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great. It provokes a number of good questions about society, biases, beliefs, etc., yet at the same time it's a breezy, highly entertaining read.

[Lol · Rating 1 out of 5]

LOL, He got what he always wanted. Good riddance, goy.

[EjectZero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. Its a bit bland.