And They Didn't Die

by Lauretta Ngcobo, Margaret Daymond (Afterword)

Drawing on firsthand experience, distinguished South African writer Lauretta Ngcobo depicts the lives of rural women in South Africa, paying homage to the extraordinary courage and remarkable endurance of these unsung heroines of the struggle against apartheid.

Set in the barren Sabelweini Valley in the 1950s to 1980s, the novel centers around one young woman, Jezile, whose political consciousness deepens as state laws threaten her earnings and her land. Arrested along with hundreds of others and sentenced to six months hard labor in prison, Jezile returns home to find her child dying of starvation. When her husband is arrested for stealing milk to save the child, Jezile must fight to ensure her family’s survival.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, South Africa, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, African Literature, Anthropology

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Lauretta Ngcobo (born 1931) was a South African novelist and essayist. After being in exile between 1963 and 1994, she lived in Durban until her death in November 2015.

The daughter of Simon Gwina, she was born in Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, grew up there, and was educated at the University of Fort Hare. She married Abednego Bhekabantu Ngcobo, a founder and member of the executive of the Pan Africanist Congress. In 1963, facing imminent arrest, the family fled the country, moving to Swaziland, then Zambia and finally England, where she taught school for 25 years. Ngcobo returned to South Africa in 1994. Her husband died in 1997.

In South African she taught for a while before becoming a Member of the KwaZulu Natal Legislature, where she spent eleven years before retiring in 2008.

In 2006, she received the Lifetime Achievement Literary Award of the South African Literary Awards. In 2008, she was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga for her work in literature and in promoting gender equality.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Puleng Hopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A political book penned by a political and gender activist . "And They Did Not Die" is a must in assisting to contextualize the present by comprehending true history. Because people, Black South Africans especially, can not afford to be apolitical.

The book evoked in me a blend of anger and sadness. The type of feeling you get whilst reading the stories of Biko, Sobukwe , Mahlangu , Tsietsi , Hani, Winnie Mandela , and of many other political activists'. The struggle song "Senzenina" constantly played in my head throughout this read.

To quote from page 154....

" Look Jezile , it's straight forward. The reason why Siyalo has no job is political; the reason why he could not make use of the land to raise crops to feed his family is political ; the reason why all your cows have died of drought is political . We have no grass while Corlett has so much - that is political ; the reason why he has such a large farm and hundreds of cows is political "

The setting is a village in Sabelweni homeland in rural Kwazulu Natal. The era is apartheid South Africa 1950 to 1980. Ngcobo through Jezile Majola , her strong independant , intuitive female central character, relates of the trials and tribulations experienced by Black rural people , specifically women, in their ordinary lives as they grapple with race and gender issues. The women find themselves between a rock and a hard place and are exposed to man made, and suffering through natural phenomenon.

In the well documented narration Ngcobo covers three generations of women. Their hassle with oppressive traditional customs and with the atrocities of apartheid. The story though fictitious, covers real time historial occurances, viz, the migrant labour system , the separate development act , the 1959 beer hall protest, the defiance pass campaign, the effects of the land act of 1913, the 1936 native land and trust act , and the Bantu authorities act of 1953.

Ngcobo draws from her lived experiences in rural Natal . Also from her life in exile as a political activist. Like Sol Plaatjie in Mhudi, Meriam Tladi in Amandla, Nomavenda Mathiane in Eyes In The Night,and Bessie Head in When Clouds Gather, Ngcobo portrays an influential and instrumental female protagonist that set the record straight , that abafazi played a major role in national politics. Ngobo concentrates on the rural woman because many a political book urbanizes the struggle and excludes those in the rural areas who actually had it worse.

A classical and historically loaded treasure that needs to form part of our household libraries .

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauretta Ngcobo illuminates the complexities of life in rural South Africa during the apartheid regime. And They Didn't Die tells the story of a nation through the experiences of women as they raise families, oppose racist oppression, cope with dire poverty while attempting to maintain their traditional social structures in a changing world. Deeply moving.

[Nicole Means · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely heart-wrenching story about the impact that Apartheid had on South Africa's rural population, particularly women. The afterword delves into the historical context of this novel, particularly the disastrous impact that the land acts had on farming practices due to its vast overcrowding of rural areas. "And They Didn't Die" is a story of survival and how the apartheid system broke apart the social, cultural, and economic fabric of so many families. The systematic laws that encouraged hatred and division among the people of South Africa was despicable, shameful, and horrific, and its ramifications still resound today.

[Tebello Tebz Leputla · Rating 5 out of 5]

TW / Poverty , Child Birth Death, Rape and Abuse.
Asked a friend to recommend books to read and on the list was the book “And they did not die”. The title alone drew me to picking up the book and I am so glad that I have read it - it is an empowering book and a story that needs to be amplified when speaking about our history as South African under the apartheid regime and how womxn were not just bystanders but fighters in their own right. It is very heartbreaking because these womxn, kids and community suffered so much but it is resilience if we can call it such and their fight for something bigger (a better South Africa) that they were able to prevail.
This book has also taught me about the power of community. Community is so important for overcoming hardships e.g. the ladies who took care of Jezile when Siyalo was in jail ? Top tier girlies for life !! Soldiers for real

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is important because it was written about African women by an African woman. It was nicely written and I felt like I learned from it.

[Mvano Qangule · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brave depiction of the many struggles faced by African women in the past and still to this day. The author takes you on a roller-coaster ride of various emotions. Indeed, history helps us understand the present.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

very Tess of D'Urbervilles, a tragic coming of age story... but they didn't die!

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant storyline. A book about the evils of apartheid and the ways in which black South African women suffered in rural areas while their husbands were forced to work in the cities.

[Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first novel I read when arriving in South Africa and I have to say I couldn't have hoped for a better entry point for my imagination. This book is a strange combination of re-narrating history through emblematic fictions. The heroine is someone whose personality is almost impossible to describe because in many ways she serves as a vehicle to experience the hopes and trials that a tribal woman and her family encountered in apartheid South Africa. But there's also something a bit heavy and social history-y about how it's written. I still don't know if that is a good or a bad thing: Does it make it all feel more real because it's not elegantly written? Or does it feel like a political manifesto easier to imbibe because it is dressed as fiction? Hard to say. But my imagination and mind feel broadened after having read it.

[SJane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with the Nelson Mandela Park PS book club. We had the incredible honor of discussing the novel with a group of women from South Africa who were visiting Toronto on a month-long exchange with students from a South African school. They offered useful insight in to the cultural differences and painful accuracies of this novel which highlights womens' contributions and sacrifices for equality in apartheid South Africa.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a dark period in South African history. I read it during post election violence in Kenya, Feb. 2008. Somehow the rural South African women in this book gave me hope and courage. The author weaves historical truth with engaging characters.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A disturbing and powerful look at the resilience of women during the era of Aparteid in South Africa. With a variety of sources suppressing their personal freedom, the women in this novel maintain a trueness to themselves and a strong determination to do what it takes find life's importance.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a very stirring account of what women in Apartheid era rural South Africa had to endure. I felt really sympathetic to Jezile's plight and Ngcobo captures the nuances of their endurances very well.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story, set in South Africa during apartheid. Read it!

[Anna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a sad story that is well told. I enjoyed it. (I've actually read it twice!)

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's one of those books you read out of respect but not for love of literature. Ndcobo would maybe remembered as early feminist in Southern Africa but not as inspiring writer.