Beyond Safe Boundaries

By Margaret Sacks
Read: February 2010
Rating: Hmm

I want to talk about this book in two capacities–as a story, and as a representation of South Africa. My bestie gave it to me for Xmas, and it looks like a pretty rare find to me. I had no idea there were kids books about SA in 1989, when this first appeared. Since it is so rare, I’m going to not worry about spoiling it. And if you are one of those kids who has to do a book report on it, GO READ THE BOOK FIRST. It’s not that long, man. Just do it. Then you can write to me or about me.

If I haven’t mentioned it before on here, my family is South African. Because of its difficult past, I feel a bit protective of it. I was very young when the politics shifted, and my memories are all of visits, not from having lived there. As it turns out, this is the anniversary of Nelson Mandela being released from prison. I was four at the time, it went right over my head.

Being a white South Africa means your roots are questionable. Again, I’m defensive–my family is not Afrikaans, (almost) never voted Nat, and never practiced racism on a person to person basis. My understanding is that when the government is so damnably strict, the people roll their eyes and get on with their lives. …Everyone got on with their lives. And that’s part of the sketchy legacy. I was, I think, in my early teens when I began to feel unsettled. Why didn’t we do something?

This little book tries to explain what the white experience was like, in the 1950s and 60s. This makes the main character, Elizabeth, just a few years older than my parents. The book follows several years during Elizabeth’s childhood and preteen years. It begins when her father remarries, a dramatic change in their small household. Elizabeth readily bonds with her new mother, but her older sister Evie, who still remembers their real mother, puts up a sustained fight. Evie is leaving for university soon, though, so they’re all waiting out the first squalls until she goes. (Cheerful, eh?)

While Evie goes off to Wits (pronounced “Vits,” short for University of the Witwatersrand, or ‘the ridge of white water.’ It’s a river. It’s Afrikaans. Which, while we’re on it, is pronounced Off-rik-ons.) Elizabeth makes her way through middle school. There are friends, neighbors, boys, puberty… I was pleased by how much of Elizabeth’s actual, normal life was included. It’s not all about the racism. Not like Sacks is going to let us forget about THAT.

Apartheid (Pronounced apart-hate, NOT apar-tide, where did you lot get that from??) is going great guns at this point. All the blacks who work outside of the townships have to have passbooks. But it’s more than just white-on-black discrimination. Elizabeth’s family is Jewish, and so they are unable to join the golf course situated across the street. This was one of the first elements that gave me hope that this wouldn’t be a typical racism story. For whatever reason, this doesn’t seem to bother the then-young Elizabeth. It’s just a passing comment.

I have to say that every time racism is brought up, it feels very self-conscious. It’s like Sacks isn’t 100% sure the readers will pick up on every incident unless it’s framed just right.. The kids are playing cricket, and Elizabeth invites their maid to play. Everyone gets SUPER quiet. Then they accept her and all is well. Her father is a dentist who must make his assistant work in the back–he has enough patients who dislike having a Coloured person touch the equipment that will be used on them, let alone anything that will be permanently installed in their mouths. Oh, and Elizabeth’s uncle, aunt, and step-mother all exhibit varying degrees of racism, from “curry muncher” to “keep to your own kind.”

While the aunt and uncle are pretty wretched people, her step-mother is awesome in most ways but this. She’s affectionate, kind, and motherly. But, on her first day in their home, she starts giving orders to the maids without stopping to ask what the usual routines are. I would say she is a creature of her era; she is, after all, VERY pre-occupied with getting Evie married and settled, rather than educated. But this is not a woman born and raised in South Africa–she’s Irish! She doesn’t have the excuse of lifelong habituation. (Although it is strange that she adores England so much… whatever, she’s much more complex than this book allows us to explore.)

So, as Elizabeth deals with growing up, Evie is going through her own transformation, as seen on her school holidays when she returns to the nest. This girl who was a budding socialite, all femme and pretty and 1950s everything, has suddenly become a political creature who doesn’t care what she looks like. It’s driving their father around the bend–he’s not cut out for all this vehement arguing. And I think he knew what might be in store.

Anyway, one school year Evie rents a house off-campus, and Elizabeth goes to spend some of her own holiday time with her. She sees just how much her sister has changed. Evie has given away most of the fancy clothing in her ‘college trousseau’; she’s become involved with the student activist groups. They’re calling it The Movement. The handsome, charismatic young man leading The Movement can’t have hurt, either.

Here’s where it gets annoying. No one explains anything to Elizabeth, not even a “Be careful what you say.” Nada. Not before, and not even after she says something over the bugged telephone and the house is raided by police. Nope, sorry, Liza. But you don’t have any question either, so it’s cool, right? HOW DOES SHE NOT HAVE QUESTIONS!? I would be demanding answers. Just how deep has her sister gone?!

There is a real sense of urgency in this part of the book, but I don’t know that the climax is sufficient. Mr Handsome is picked up by the police, and Evie placed under house arrest as a suspected accomplice. She’s told she can go free if she will give them information. Evie refuses. When she is finally desperate enough to try anything, she learns that she is too late–her beau, who always swore he would survive anything they put him through–had a ‘fall’ out a high window.

This is why so few people acted out against apartheid. This is why few people act out under any corrupt government. They will do just about anything to shut you up. Nelson Mandela lost his family long before he was put in jail–he was spending all his time working with the resistance and his wife refused to play second fiddle. If you decide to become a freedom fighter, you are sacrificing your right to a normal life. You may well sacrifice your life, period. “Accidents” were not uncommon. My parents have told me that, when these were reported, everyone knew they were bullshit. But what can you do? They’ll just lock you up, too.

Like I said, I don’t know that the ending is powerful enough to really get this message across. Then again, it’s for ages 10 and up. You don’t want to scare them shitless. (OR DO YOU?)

I also don’t know that I like how the latent racism was portrayed. I don’t know if it’s accurate–I’m going to have to ask my parents to read it and tell me how it compares to their formative years. Perhaps Port Elizabeth, where the story is set, was more conservative/Nat than the Cape, where my family iswasandhasalwaysbeen.

Or maybe the author is full of crap. I don’t know. Because I cannot find any information about her! I know she wrote one other book, and that’s it. There’s no About the Author in the book itself. The current Puffin website doesn’t list her OR this book. She’s not on Wiki. Who is this Margaret Sacks? Is she South African? Is she American? Has she lived in SA or is this just research? Was she writing to feel a void in the publishing market or did she have a story she genuinely felt needed telling? Is SHE Elizabeth?

My biggest concern is that this book is still on school reading lists. I don’t know how accurate it is, or what sort of impressions it’s giving the new readers. I’m much less concerned with the sexual content (RACY for a Puffin!) and more upset about the rough dialects used by the black maids–that also sounded wrong to me.

I’m not sure I’m happy. I’m also not sure if I have a write to be unhappy with it. I need the opinion of someone who lived through this era to tell me if the thing is way off base or not.

And the next book I read about SA should be a romance. Oh lawdy.