Lansdowne dearest: My family’s story of forced removals

by Bronwyn Davids

In the 1920s, Bronwyn Davids’ great-grandpa Joe McBain built their family home in Lansdowne. In this memoir, Davids vibrantly recreates life lived in this house for There’s doekpoeding  for Christmas; helpful neighbours dropping by for advice and chommies playing kennetjie. But this is also an account of a gut-wrenching loss. Set against the background of apartheid forced removals, this is a charming and authentically South African family story that will stay with you.   

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 11, 2020

Reviews

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book made me laugh (the personalities, the crock cars!), it made me cry and it opened my eyes (the insecurity, the stoicism in the face of incredible injustice while I was going to school blithely unaware).

Mostly though, I was left with memories of a story told with love and compassion.

Highly recommended!

[Lwazi Bangani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to take my time with this book and it proved to be worthwhile in the end.

I also grew up around most of the places Bronwyn mentions in the book and it felt good to finally learn about the history and make up of these neighbourhoods that once shaped us.

This is also a very important book because it traces the history, lineage and foundations of the average ‘coloured’, which is a segment of society that is rarely accounted for in SA history and literature.

Otherwise a very important book which will lead you to realise the extent at which the Group Areas Act has and still impacts us today.

[Colin McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

If, like me, you grew up white in South Africa, you need to read this. It's an eye-opener to the world that was happening around us, but that didn't affect us whites. And it's important to try to understand the events of that time when ordinary folk were devastated by the policies of apartheid. This book will make it possible for those of us who weren't directly affected by the Group Areas' Act, and by having your home ripped away from you in the name of racism.