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Mother to Mother, a novel by Sindiwe Magona, demonstrates that apartheid is to blame for many of South Africa’s current societal problems. More specifically, Magona credits apartheid as the reason for the killing of Amy Elizabeth Biehl. Sindiwe Magona composed this novel in an attempt to express her sympathy to the Biehl family. Because Magona is a black woman, originally from the South African village of Gugeletu, her voice is a powerful one, bridging the gap between race and culture. The book can touch all audiences, but especially those who have known or been victimized by criminal violence or racial issues. Magona uses her writing abilities to express what she believed the mother of the murderer would feel. This was appropriate for her to do because the mother of one of the four convicted killers was a childhood friend. While being classified as “fiction,” Mother to Mother is drawn from actual and realistic conditions in South Africa. Magona’s claim is classified as cause/effect as it states that apartheid is the reason for the violence and unfortunate way of life for the black members of South Africa. This is evident in the preface: “the legacy of apartheid– a system repressive and brutal, that bred senseless inter- and intra-racial violence as well as other nefarious happenings; a system that promoted a twisted sense of right and wrong (page v-vi).” Because people were forcibly separated from whites, they built up much resentment and anger. They were also forced to live like dogs. Parents had to work constantly, leaving children to take care of themselves.
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