Review: Portraying South African Apartheid
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 3, 2014
The cover shows us the three central characters on which the novel will focus.  In the beginning of my reading process, I referred back to the cover because the artist’s conception of these characters helped to anchor them in my mind.Eventually, all three of the protagonists made a powerful impression on me.  I asked myself why I felt one character relationship was the emotional heart of the novel.  Since the characters were both white, I wondered if I was being racist.  I decided that I felt that way because of the barriers between the two characters.  Kollenborn shows us that there could be huge differences between white people in South Africa.  There were white opponents of apartheid.  I did think that the central relationship of the novel was intended to be the friendship that developed between the two female protagonists, but it wasn’t freighted with the dramatic intensity that would have made it feel more significant.I also would have preferred fewer information dumps. I admit that some information was definitely necessary to the plot.  I discovered that “necklacing” was far more horrific than I had previously imagined.There was a handful of typographical errors, but several of them were noticeable because they occurred within a page of each other.  Yet few books are completely error free.The study guide for book clubs asked questions that were thought provoking, but there was no question about the Truth and Reconciliation process.  The character Joanne wondered if this process really could heal South Africa.  I think that book groups will want to discuss how the book depicts Truth and Reconciliation, and whether it’s an effective policy for South Africa.How The Water Falls by K.P. Kollenborn testifies to the capacity of individuals to bring about social change. The protagonists are only a small sample of the type of courage and commitment that was shown by a great many individuals in South Africa during the period that brought about the end of apartheid.  Without them no change would have happened.  The stories of Kollenborn’s fictional exemplars are inspirational.