Welcome To Our Hillbrow

Phaswane Mpe's short novel is quite the read. It's quite disturbing but worthwhile, especially for putting to life the residents of Hillbrow, Johannesburg. I have blogged about the neighborhood before, which can be found here. This novel, however, explains the streets, crime, xenophobia, racism, HIV/AIDS, and relationship with the rest of Johannesburg and South Africa sorely lacking in any sociologist or social worker's attempt to explain life in Hillbrow. The novel is centered on two black South Africans from Tiragalong, a rural area, and their intersecting lives with other blacks in post-apartheid South Africa. Oddly, the novel is written in second-story, switching between Refentse and Refilwe with tangents on the lives of their families, friends and loved ones. Oddly structured, yes, brilliant writing, undoubtedly. Descriptions of South African race relations, prostitution, extreme xenophobia, necklacing, and ostracism because of AIDS permeates the entirety of the novel.