Verdict: carrot from Stellenbosch, via the US of A
The bio of the author of this review, for a book that has bubbled up after more than a year’s dormancy, certainly piques one’s interest: “Grace Kim immigrated to South Africa with her family at the age of two, and is currently studying at Universiteit Stellenbosch for her MA in English with a focus on marginalized South African narratives.”
Here’s Kim’s review of Yvette Christiansë’s debut novel, which appears in a solid new find on the web from New York:
Prior to the release of Unconfessed, Yvette Christiansë published an anthology of poetry, Castaway (Duke University Press, 1999), which was inspired by a key focus area of her academic research: slave narratives. It was while conducting research in court records that Christiansë, a native of South Africa who currently teaches English at Fordham University in New York, found tantalizing snippets of the life of one particular slave who had been imprisoned for child murder. Inspired by this true tale, Christiansë’s debut novel creates a beautifully moving and emotionally gripping story that explores issues surrounding this horrific act in—surprisingly—a compassionate and humanizing way. In doing so, Unconfessed does more than present ways of thinking through the trials and tribulations of motherhood, death, and family life—it also provides a thought-provoking contemplation on slavery and freedom, agency and society.
Set in 19th century Cape Town, South Africa, Unconfessed is the tale of Sila, an attractive, feisty and headstrong woman who is taken at a young age from Mozbiek (Mozambique) to work as a slave. The novel begins with a third person narration of Sila’s imprisonment in a filthy, dingy jail cell. Her crime: kindermoord, that is, infanticide. What exaggerates this crime in the eyes of the court is her refusal to explain her motivations behind the murder. By the time the novel begins, Sila has already been serving on death row “for three years… on the path to death,” dulling her anxiety about her impending demise to a state of apathetic numbness. The appointment of a new prison superintendent, however, grants her a pardon from her death sentence. Instead, Sila is ordered to carry out an extended term on Robben Island, seven kilometers off the coast. From this point on, Unconfessed takes the form of a series of first-person monologues addressed eventually to Lys, a friend she makes on the island, as well as Johannes, a friend from her past. Most of these discussions, however, are addressed to the spirit of Baro, her murdered son.
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