
In this memoir, columnist, journalism graduate and self-proclaimed Zulu cultural delinquent Bhekisisa Mncube uses his own experience as a springboard to explore interracial relationships in South Africa.
When I started reading the book I was initially captivated but by the time I was halfway through I was disappointed and gobsmacked. It wasn’t only Mncube’s dream of “becoming a white man” that disturbed me but also his habit of speaking about his partner as his “English” or “white” wife even though he argues that people shouldn’t be classified by race.
Throughout the book Mncube seems proud of the fact that he’s married a white woman and moved away from the “black struggle or experience” – I found this extremely uncomfortable to read. The book also explores toxic masculinity as the author details his past disastrous relationships, with mainly black women. Instead of being – as described – an erotic, romantic and steamy read, it quickly turns into a tale of unhealthy relationships. –