Study Questions & Comments

[Betty]

The Jack Bank: A Memoir of a South African Childhood by Glen Retief

I always wondered about some South African words from other books, finding some of them in the Glossary of this book: bakkie, boffin, kopje, Witwatersrand...

1. What are some of the skeletons he brings out of the closet?

"If no one is ever willing to break the protective silence of what goes on in individual lives, how will we ever learn from each other?"

2. How does the author describe the South African society?

3. Which sides did the author take in politics, on apartheid, and on sexuality?

4. Which bad memories of youth scarred him?

5. Is this memoir of his experiences biographically factual or creatively composed?

[Betty]

Interview with the author and Nina Herzog http://www.lambdaliterary.org/feature...

[Lindsey]

Hi everyone:
I just finished reading this memoir and really found it beautifully written and thought-provoking. I admit that the title of the book put me off for a while (a book about banking!!) but my worries proved unfounded...Here is my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The author's note about what constitutes a memoir is worth reading and discussing...how much creative reconstruction can go into a memoir? Very interesting.