My traitor's heart by Rian Malan

Love is worth nothing until tested by its own defeat. True love is able to transcend defeat. 

Must read for anyone trying to understand the breakdown of racism into socialism in South Africa among the white population.  

Whites had the most to loose from social redistribution so why were they so keen? Because whites who surrendered their claims to class privilege gained something infinitely more precious in return: relief from guilt and complicity that preyed on their minds like a nightmare. 

How did the whites become socialist from predominantly racist? First step was to convince yourself that South Africa was being torn apart not due to race but class struggle, the second was to move into alignment with the blacks and declare your lee of as it's self proclaimed vanguards. Beyond this point you were born again, South Africa became a country where the enemy were determined by the class not by the race, thus your whiteness became irrelevant. Socialism became the opium of the elites.

Another aspect seldom reported was the mafia like black on black killing which occurred in parallel with whites subjugating the blacks in South Africa. Rian portrays a stark picture of various black on black attacks in which all major political parties seem to have participated with vigour. 

I loved the end story of Neil and Creina in the end of the book. I thought it captured the spirit of Africa succinctly,' if you loved you were vulnerable, and if you were vulnerable you were weak, and if you were weak in Africa, you got fucked over and over again till you could no longer stand it.'