Our generation: by Zubeida Jaffer.

Our Generation is the astoundingly accomplished debut book of Zubeida Jaffer, journalist, activist and mother. It bursts onto the contemporary South Africa literary scene with a refreshing and insightful version of the struggle against apartheid, told from the perspective of a young mother.

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As a journalist at the Cape Times and later with community newspapers, Zubeida played an important role in the resistance movement in the Western Cape, from the early nineteen-eightees; later she was a key organiser in the formation of the United Democratic Front. This account spans about fifteen years, from 1980 to post 1994, covering her initial detention, up to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, at which she testified.

The genius of the book lies in its intimacy.

Zubeida writes about colic, love and longing, sexism, divorce, cruelty, Judaism in New York and her struggle with Islam. And she vividly and irreverently describes some of the major players in the apartheid struggle, many of whom fill important posts today.

Kwela Books, Cape Town 2003