Introductions aside….let’s get to the book!
I actually finished reading the book tonight…and I just got it Monday morning – so it’s a fairly easy, good read. I promise there won’t be any spoilers in this post though.
What struck me most at the beginning of the book was the concept (as my title implies) of the mute suffering and the deep fear of the natives. The mute suffering refers to Stephen Kumalo’s wife at the end of chapter 2: “She sat down at his table, and put her head on it, and was silent, with the patient suffering of black women, with the suffering of oxen, with the suffering of any that are mute.” I naturally didn’t like the concept of equating a “black” person with an ox, but I think it is very appropriate for the author to point out how the silencing of natives in
The bigger issue, for me, was the issue of fear. At the end of chapter 3, Stephen Kumalo’s feelings are described this way: “Deep down the fear for his son. Deep down the fear of a man who lives in a world not made for him, whose own world is slipping away, dying, being destroyed, beyond any recall.” Fear is a larger theme in the book than suffering, although the two are interwoven throughout. In
Both of these, the suffering and the fear, paint a picture of a country devastated by inner turmoil, torn apart by racial/ethnic discrimination.
This picture is what the cover of my version of the book looks like. I would guess that this is the sunrise at the very end of the book, although I do not know for sure. I know, I promised no spoilers – but it will suffice to say that in this scene, the fear and the suffering have come together – and yet in a small way, at the same time there is a glimmer of hope.
