Before Mandela's Rainbow

Loved and loving, indulged, even downright spoilt and at the heart
of a migrant family whose forebears had sought a haven and livelihood
in South Africa in the late 19th century, Edward Joffe's memoir of his
Johannesburg up-bringing is not only a happy romp through the travails
and adventures of childhood to adulthood but also a vivid window on
20th century life in a country of dramatic and often bitter contrasts.
Acutely drawn characters people Eddie's early life - from the bodybuilding
Ash to the London Cockney Gran with her Boer War memories,
from Aunt Minnie decorating every available surface with shells to the
Marist Brothers College where the teachers are "a cast of characters
from some down market theatrical farce."
There are happy times playing in the storeroom of Eddie's - his
father's successful greengrocer's - and on Jo'burg's koppies. There's a
Richmal Crompton "Just William" aura about Eddie and his chums.
College and University life opens up a new seam of adventure -
sexual and commercial - hilarious at times and poignant at others.
A student tour of post-war Europe is so evocative of an era that this
passage could stand alone as a record of its time.
Again Eddie's real talent for characterisation and description is to
the fore. Not certain of a career path he dabbles in being an art dealer, a
jewellery salesman, an advertising agent....As a soundman he produced
wedding recordings then goes on an Africa-wide adventure as writer
/ director with an eccentric fi lm producer and here a possible future
career comes into view.
However, there is a very moving and serious side to this story as
Eddie becomes increasingly aware of the gulf - savagely enforced by
legislation and a zealous police force - between the black, coloured and
white populations. The blatant injustice of it all becomes so intolerable
to him that, with his new bride, he heads for Britain, delighted also to
have escaped from, and outwitted, his new father-in-law.
Evelyn Hood