Return to Paradise

by Breyten Breytenbach

The painter, writer, and political activist returns to his native South Africa, where he was once imprisoned for working for the African National Congress, and reflects on the decline of apartheid and his own attachment to the Boer state

Genres: Africa, History, South Africa

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Breyten Breytenbach was a South African writer, poet, and painter. He became internationally well-known as a dissident poet and vocal critic of South Africa under apartheid, and as a political prisoner of the National Party-led South African Government. He is also known as a founding member of the Sestigers, a dissident literary movement, and was one of the most important living poets in Afrikaans literature.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully written and frequently pessimistic recollections of a visit to south africa in 1991 during the transition out of apartheid. sometimes he'll digress and talk about earlier events too, like for example there's some excellent anecdotes about thomas sankara, who i wouldn't have thought was such a prankster before i read this.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this uneven but interesting book - an account of BB's return to SA from exile in 1991, a very interesting time in SA as it transitioned to full democracy. I found his poetic flights occasionally beautiful, sometimes entirely mystifying, his anecdotes similarly confused. But as a slice of life at a particular time, as some insight into this fascinating man, its a worthwhile read for anyone interested.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful and disturbing memoir of his return to South Africa; a bit disconcerting when the author takes poetic licence, which is when he soars and I lose sight of him. A tortured soul, hard to know where he stands on anything, apart from Crocodile Botha and the security police! A profoundly haunting and depressing book which the intervening quarter of a century has done nothing to dispel.

[Elizabeth A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

a poet's experience of Africa