Welcome to our Hillbrow

 “Welcome to Our Hillbrow” by Phaswane Mpe is an autobiography written in second person narrative. . He expressed the novel based on personal experiences of depression and suicidal thoughts for the story. He shows how living in South Africa was during apartheid by exploring the issues of crime, drugs, rape, suicide, AIDS, and xenophobia. Lust and betrayal are touched upon as well. Throughout the novel Mpe manages to capture the pulse of Hillbrow, a neighborhood of Johannesburg, giving us some sense of degrees of urban violence.

            The use of different character perspectives in this book helped me understand better the different points of view of the characters and also more about Hillbrow itself.  Some of these perspectives include the author’s perspective. Refentse’s perspective explains why things happened in his life and explains why his decision to commit suicide occurs. We also see the perspective of Tiragalong people toward the city people of Johannesburg,  the “heaven” perspective, and the perspective of South Africans on non-South Africans people.

            Each of the principal characters, have lost their sanity, experienced a violent death, had HIV/AIDS or committed suicide. Through these tragedies, life journeys, and effects of suicides, accidents, and illness, Mpe develops a trope of infection. The novel's different elements are all interconnected.  For example, after Referentse's death, his mother, accused her son of bewitching, is "necklaced" with tires and set aflame. Lerato, Referentse's lover, commits suicide, mainly because of a feeling of guilt over his death and also because of false rumors spread by Refilwe, Referentse's first love. These rumors encourage on the bad reputation of Hillbrowan women and xenophobic feelings about all migrant foreigners. In turn, Refilwe's own journey, from Tiragalong to Johannesburg to Oxford in and back to Tiragalong, ultimately shows the same elements of loneliness, betrayal, suffering, and, death.

Welcome to our Hillbrow

             Welcome to our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe is a second person narration that talks to the protagonist of the story Refentse who is already deceased. The novel deals with Xenophobia, poverty, AIDS and crime taken place in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mpe’s narrative point of view is mixed with the characters points of vie­­w in a very unique way. He does a good job of using different perspectives to make everything connect particularly by using his point of view. He explains in his novel , why Refentse commited suicide, there where actions that led to it. For instance Refentse is in love with Lerato and one day he comes home to find his friend Sammy who his been friends with for a long while  having sex with Lerato  the girl he really adores. The sight of this scene drove him  to commit suicide by jumping off a building, one can argue he had a mental break down which led to him jumping. Reminds me a little bit  about Romeo and Juliet but back to the novel.

           The lack of knowledge portrays the series of problems that the people of Tiragalong faced. The repetition of the phrase "Welcome to our Hillbrow" emphasizes the daily troubles that the people of Hillbrow go through. To them, it is nothing new, like HIV, AIDS, suicides and  violence that cuts short the promise of young people’s lives. Mpe is bringing us into the life style and tributes of the people of South Africa , from his descriptive ways he sets the scene and makes us the reader feel like we are involved in the story and life’s of the people. The author's reference to heaven in my opinion pays respect to the falling citizens who have been affected by the crisis and issues going on signifying the loss of life due to the killings and suicide rates of the people.

Reading Response 11/3

In Phaswane Mpe's, "Welcome to Our Hillbrow", we are told this twisted story of love, life and death. We come to know the story of Refentse, Lerato his female lover and his best friend Sammy. Mpe offers a very believable view on the situation at hand. Refentse comes home to find Lerato and Sammy having sex which leads him down a dark road to which he finds himself in question of life or death. Unfortunately Refentse choose to die, which then also results in Lerato committing suicide. The real tragic part of this story was none of this was intentional and it all started with Sammy trying to be a good friend and keep Refentse's lover in love with Refentse. This is when it is most easily noticable how perspectives play a role in stories.

When Sammy cheats with Lerato, there are multiple different views on the subject. We see Lerato approach Sammy in need of emotional support. She confesses that she seems to be growing apart from Refentse and ends up sleeping with Sammy which leads to Refentse's death. I think that the view from each different perspective allows for the characters to really develop. As the reader gets further into the story you hear the same version of the story but from different perspectives. The reader can really pick up on this in Lerato's case.

At first it's hard not to judge each and everyone of the characters because you're only told the story by one person. But as you keep reading you get to see it from the other persons perspective which totally changes the readers view on each character. It's like the expression, "Walk a mile in my shoes, then judge me". The reader doesn't get that luxury until later on in the book so for me personally, it totally changed the way I saw each character. I can't really say that I approve of what happened between the two but in seeing it from Lerato's perspective I can understand a little better why it all panned out the way it did.

Reading Response 11/03

I first should admit that I was not able to finish the book, Welcome To Our Hillbrow, written by Phaswane Mpe. I made it about two-thirds into it and finally decided to stop. The story and I had a hard time connecting, even though, I appreciated the way Mpe describes the scenery and the way he narrated the story line was like nothing I've ever read before. The story had too many names and key words that no matter how hard I tried, I could not remember who the characters were or what those key words meant. I don’t think I was able to understand exactly what the author was getting at, making the book as I read increasingly boring. Maybe, with more time I can read Welcome To Our Hillbrow, and understand the story’s meaning.

Even though I could not find it within me to finish the book, there were several subjects that spark some thought. For example, how the authors goes about describing the city of Hillbrow. He described it as being full of corruption, poverty, violence, and disease. I thought to myself “Wow. That’s a really shitty place to live. I’m glad I live the Bronx.” Never would I ever think I would say something like that. Mpe brought me to an extreme thought; he made me thankful of my current situation by describing the extreme realities of Hillbrow. Hats off to him for that one.

Reading Response 11/03

Welcome To Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe is a novel written in second person narrative. The novel touches base on subjects such as violence, prostitution, suicide and HIV/Aids. Personally, what caught my true attention with the novel was the dialogue. Each character had his own voice that could be distinguished without clearly establishing who was speaking. Every character had a different story but yet they all somehow connect. In the novel, Refentse and Learto have an altercation. Through Refentse's perspective Learto was considered to be the worst thing ever because she cheated. Once the story continues, and the author begins to portray Leartos point of view, it then becomes clear why she cheated.

I feel like the novel expressed many situations that occur in real life through these characters.

Throughout the novel, Mpe chose many different angles to tell the story. One angle he chose was by telling the readers facts about Hillsbow and the xenophobia that occurs. Another angle that Mpe chose was the fact that the novel was not only written upon the characters, but also upon us as the reader. In the novel Mpe states how sweat begins to run down ones back and how ones eyes begins to dilate. Mpe speaks to us, the readers, directly as he refers to us as "you."

I think that Mpe's style of witting in this novel was a stepping stone needed to portray his approach. In my opinion Mpe tried very much to connect the reader to either, if not all, of the characters based on what each character goes through. For that same reason, I really liked the novel. Although I was unsure who exactly was telling the story, it was clear to me that the narrator had an objective yet very clear cut view of everything that was going on. The narrator never stated his opinion on the situations that occurred, yet Mpe's did a good job on making sure that the narrator knew everything that was occurring.

Reading Response: Welcome to our Hillbrow

The novel Welcome to our Hillbrow is unique in my opinion in that the story telling is done through perspective of different people. You sort of stepped into different people's shoe to see the same situations in different light. It goes from seeing it from the perspective of the narrator, the author Phaswane Mpeo, the perspective of Refentse, the people of Tiragalong, south Africans, and non South African migrants. It deals with crime, poverty, and generally xenophobia in the neighborhood of Hillbrow. It basically follows the story of Refentse, while immersing you with what goes on in Hillbrow by putting you in the center of action such as when it is described that a woman can be heard screaming for help in the middle of the night, and while you were curious to take a look, you basically tried your best to ignore it, while hearing police sirens but realizing they are not for the screaming woman but instead for someone else. It’s vivid description like that among others whose perspective point of view works best than pershaps reading that Refentse heard a woman scream, its just more powerful by hearing you can hear that going on. “You try to convince yourself that the sound you had heard was a dream, a nightmare; but in your wakeful state, hard realities came home to roost….Welcome to our Hillbrow….” It deals with other societal issues in Hillbrow as well such as AIDS. Nobody there really seems to understand and comprehend where did AIDS come from, but yet the people there are ready to point fingers. Xenophobia is seen through the people believing that AIDS come from foreigners, people from other parts of Africa, West Africa. They believe that sex between men as they put it was so dirty as to create such a dirty disease. The other part where “foreigners” were looked in bad light in was shown in the example of Refentse’s mother and Lerato. The generalization being that people like Lerato were inferior. They believed that foreigners were responsible for physical decay, and moral decay such as drug dealing, AIDS, and such. It’s really a unique reading because I can’t recall a different novel where different people’s perspective were told in the novel. The stories are usually told in the perspective of the main character and the narrator but not as much by other’s in the story to the degree of this novel. 

Reading Response: Welcome to Our Hillbrow

          The book Welcome to Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe is a novel that illustrates the lives of characters and the issues that existed in the Hillbrow neighborhood. The story is told through the second person narrative as the author often uses the word “you” as a subject of the novel. One of the unique things about this novel is how the author uses a variety of perspectives to tell the story. These perspectives include the author’s perspective, Refentse’s perspective, the perspective from heaven, the perspective of Tiragalong people toward the city people of Johannesburg, and the perspective of South Africans on non-South Africans. In the novel, Mpe illustrates his perspective through facts and his commentary on the characters’ situation. The narrator, as the author himself, often tells historical facts that happened in the South Africa such as the 1998 Soccer World cup and the system of apartheid. Due to Refentse's perspective, the readers also understand and know more about Hillbrow. Refentse’s perspective is illustrated by the events that happened during his lifetime in Hillbrow which led to the downfall of other characters. It also illustrates the causes of his behavior which led to the choice of committing suicide. The narrative mostly uses Refentse’s perspective to illustrate the true life of the Hillbrow neighborhood. The text states: “you already knew that Hillbrow was a menacing monster…Hillbrow had swallowed a number of the children of Tiragalong, who though that the City of Gold was full of career opportunities for them” (3). Another perspective is from the heaven. The text states: “Heaven is the world of our continuing existence, located in the memory and consciousness of those who live with us and after us” (124).  Heaven is a placed where our souls exit and our memories still continued with us. Similar to the narrator, the perspective of heaven also knows everything that happened in the story. Since God knows everything about us and the world, then the heaven perspective can also be viewed as God’s perspective.
          The author uses the perspective of the Tiragalong people towards the city people of Johannesburg to illustrate the mindset of rural people to the city people. This perspective creates conflict to the main character. Through the illustration of the narrator in the Map section, the reader can see that rural people, especially the Tiragalong people, believe that Johannesburg is a dangerous and the most corrupt place. The text states: “tiragalong drank in the scandal eagerly…everyone knew that the Johannesburg women are bound to bring disasters upon any man’s life (44).  This statement illustrates how the Tiragalong people think about the Johannesburg women which caused Refentse’s mother to dislike Lerato. This lead to the quarrel between Refentse and his mother. However, as the reader continues to the read the story, Refentse’s mother's attitude toward Lerato changed when they met each other in heaven. Similar to the rural people perspective to the city people, the perspective of South Africans toward non African is no different. South Africans people do not like non South Africans or the Makwerekwere. The text states: “AID’s travel in route into Johannesburg was through Makwerekwere” (4). This is one of the reasons that caused South African people to disliked non South African as they believed that this evil disease, a.k.a AIDS, was caused by the foreign germs that spread throughout the areas and killed their people. They treated foreign people poorly and also make fun foreign people as they called these people as “Makwerekwere”.This word is from the sound “kwere kwere”,which is the sound the unintelligible foreign make when they speak (20). I believe that the author uses different perspectives as a way to help us understand more about the character’s minds. It also helps us to know more about the causes and effects in the story and characters’ lives.

Welcome to our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe

Destiny Jackson

        From the novel Welcome to our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe, I like how the book was divided into stories from people in South Africa. Its like us readers are getting different situations coming from different people. Different form anything i ever read was when the novel talks about cultural and political context in terms of class, the spreading of HIV/AIDS and drug dealing. I feel this type is important and people all over the world need to be aware of whats going on in the nation. “One of the stories that you remember vivdl was of a young man who died pf strange illness in 1990, when you were matriculating. The migrants said it could only have been AIDS” (pg 2). I think from this quote it states relevant  facts and writers is trying to perspective people about whats going on in Africa. AIDS is defiantly serious and has no cure. I think present when people heard about stories with AIDS because its still spreading about all over the world. When I read the back of the book and saw the word “AIDS” I personally wanted to know about other people stories and facts about the topic. The point of view is third person, the writer is throwing facts to his readers to send out awareness about AIDS.

I like how the writers talk about how AIDS started it gives readers a starting point and the one of the main topics. “But strange illness courted in Hillbrow, as Tiragalong knew only too well, could only translate into AIDS. This ALDS, according to popular understanding was caused by foreign germs that travelled down from the central and western of Africa” (pg 4).  It seems that the illness got really serious fast.

      Migrants (who were Tiragalongs authoritative grapevine on all   important issues) deduced from such media reports that AIDS travel route into Johannesburg was through Mackwerekwere basked.There were other who went further, saying thats AIDS was caused by th bizarre sexual behavior of the Hillbrowans” (Pg 4). I thought this was one of the most important parts of the novels because it talks about the behavior of the Hillbrowans people and the spreading of AIDS. They talks having gay sex also having to do with the spreading of AIDS other the the green monkey.

  Here where they talks about drug dealing, this is trying to show this is not the place to be. This place is crazy the life that people live in Africa is unsafe and dangerous, “Three Nigerians  who evaded arrest at Jan Smuts Airport were finally arrested in Pretoria Street for dug dealing” (Pg 5).

Reading Response 11/03

Welcome to our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe is a novel that deals with Xenophobia, poverty, AIDS and crime. There is a second person narration that talks to the protagonist of the story Refentse who is already dead. It concerns the lives of lovers and people around them as they travelled from their villages to neighborhoods in Johannesburg. Betrayal of love occurs with consequences. The speakers knows what each character thinks and also knows the thoughts of the people of Tiragalong. The author does a good job of using different perspectives to make everything connect but particularly, also using his point of view. For instance, the author explains why Refentse commited suicide. Refentse is in love with Lerato. One day he comes home to find his bestfriend Sammy having sex with Lerato and he commits suicide by jumping off a building. From Mpe's point of view, Refentse should not have killed himself ,but, instead he should realize that he too has betrayed his friend Sammy with Bohlale Sammy's lover. The lack of knowledge portrays the series of problems that the people of Tiragalong faced. The repetition of the phrase "Welcome to our Hillbrow" emphasizes the daily troubles that the people of Hillbrow go through. To them, it is nothing new.
Chapter one was written to describe what Hillbrow is like for readers. The different crimes, street and scenes that takes place in Hillbrow shows the character of the people of Hillbrow. Xenophobia is portrayed when Mpe reveals how the people of Hillbrow blamed Makwerekwere (foreigners) for bringing AIDS in Hillbrow(5). Also, an example can be seen when Refentse mother believed that the women of Johannesburg were only there to destroy men. As a result, she disliked her son Refentse 's relationship with Lerato because of her bad mentality towards Johannesburg women(39). Refilwe, Refentse's ex girlfriend also had her point of view. She became more open minded when she traveled to Oxford. While she was there, she saw the behavior of  others towards Africans and South Africans. This allowed her to forsake her past stereotypes about South Africans and foreigners. The different perspective in this novel contributed to my understanding of the characters thoughts and actions.

Christian P.

Welcome to Our Hillbrow 

Reading Response:

        Welcome to Our Hillbrow is a gritty, vulgar portrayal of life in a ghetto where the protagonist, Refentse, had decided was unfitting to continue living in. Phaswane Mpe's hard-hitting novel begins with the unveiling of Refentse as a peaceful soul who has found salvation: "But at least now, you would experience no hardships walking to your flat through the streets of Hillbrow-..." (1). This quote serves multiple purposes, it sets the tone of the story and also how perspective is vital in its delivery of events (reader = Refentse). The narrator is the all-seeing eye that depicts the state of life everywhere in Hillbrow, Johannesburg and how despair plagues its streets. Initially, Mpe's utilization of perspectives allowed readers to delve not only into the main character's mind but also his fellow residents. 

        The several perspectives throughout the novel paints a greater overall picture that involved post-apartheid life and the many taboo topics associated with it. The heaven perspective in particular caught my attention as it essentially reviewed Refentse's life in hindsight. One of heavens' quotes that demonstrated Mpe's extraordinary narrative vision: 

The first time someone took out a knife on you, it was at Hyde Park Village, near Sandton, where you accidentally disturbed thieves stripping cars of their radio sets in the parking lot; Hyde Park, with its lily-white reputation for safety and serenity. You were not stabbed, but only because you made it just in time into the courtyard of your aunt's employer's house, and the butcher knife pursuing you hit the door to the courtyard just as you turned the key to unlock it.

I believe this quote held the theme or essence of what made life in Hillbrow so unforgiving. This can attest to the reasoning behind Refentse committing suicide since violence and disorder had no end in sight. Furthermore, it fairly represents the paths people are willing to take when the racial divide oppressed them for so long. More specifically, when people are put down by masquerading tyrants, it is only a matter of time before they try to gain power without the help of money.

Welcome to Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe

                Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow is written in a very unique style compared to the other novels we have read in the class. Mpe writes the novel using the narrative type of second person.  The speaker knows absolutely everything about every character and the setting.  The speaker actually knows what each character thinks and knows the opinions people of Tiragalong have towards certain situations. In addition, he talks about what heaven is like as if he is a ghost or god-like figure with the ability to see the dead and the living. It is interesting how Mpe uses all these different perspectives but also includes his own point of view. For example, he explains the motives as to why Refentse committed suicide but he then admits that he did not agree with the decision Refentse made. The speaker gives the impression that instead of killing himself, Refentse should have talked with Lerato and realized that he also once betrayed his friend, Sammy. I think that the purpose for Mpe’s use of different perspectives in addition to his own is to demonstrate how the mentality of the people of Tiragalong contributed to their troublesome environment of drugs, AIDS, violence, and xenophobia. Throughout the novel, Mpe is emphasizing the difficulties that are present in the city of Hillbrow mainly through the character, Refentse, who moves into this city to go to the University of Witwatersrand. Mpe repeats “Welcome to our Hillbrow...” and the paragraph with no use of commas, “… with the spinning of cars the prostitution drug use and misuse grime and crime the numerous bottles diving…,” as if telling his readers this is what living in Hillbrow is like.

                I thought that out of all the chapters, chapter one and two were the most captivating because of Mpe’s  description of Hillbrow, Refentse’s life, and heaven.  Chapter one was written to create a map of the city in the reader’s mind. Mpe mentions the many streets and places in Hillbrow and discusses how people of Tiragalong were like. For example, Mpe writes about how some Hillbrowans  blamed Makwerekwere or foreigners for the entrance of AIDS in Hillbrow(5) . In addition, he incorporates his own opinion on how the media glamourizes crime and influences the people of Tiragalong with the image that robbers are like movie stars (5).  Chapter two also gave a thought-provoking perspective of heaven. Mpe says, “Heaven, you now know, is not some far-off place where God sits in judgment, waiting to read his endless cruel list of offenders on Earth. This Heaven that is your present abode it is a very different thing. It carries within its own Hell. ” (47). In this this quote, the speaker is revealing the perspective of heaven and is going against the common idea of heaven which is that God is waiting to judge you. Mpe believes that we bring upon ourselves our own Hell by the actions we do on Earth. 

Reading Response

Welcome to Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe is a second person narrative that follows Refentse, his friends and how they deal with violence, xenophobia and betrayal. One thing that caught my eye was the dialogue. Despite the fact there is no traditional dialogue, you can usually tell who is talking and it doesn’t take away from the book. Although it is hard to tell if it’s Refentse talking and reflecting on his life from the heavens or if it is the author talking to you, the reader, about his life. I think there are times you can tell who is talking though because of the other accounts in the story. How could Refentse know how anyone else felt without being there? The book is written in a way that makes you feel like you are the Phillipe Bourgois of the area. The difference is that you can actually insert yourself into this story while in Phillipe Bourgois’ account; you can’t because you know it’s his account of the things that happen.

Early on in the book Refentse has a conversation with his cousin and the cousin says that the foreigners are to blame for all the crime and moral decay in the Hillbrows. Refentse opposes this idea and says that while the foreigners are partitially to blame, that you should not forget that many people in Hillbrows are there for their own agenda. You must not forget that a large percentage of bring their problems with them and that the people there are killing each other indiscriminately. Each of these people had their own point of view and passed it on as truths. It reminds me of the traditional narrative that the Spaniards have told for centuries about their conquest in Latin America. The usual ‘a few hundred Europeans went to the new land and dominated empires that had hundreds of thousands of natives’. How is such a thing possible if you do not skew the facts and create false information about it? The Europeans had their own agenda and their own view point. Sadly, decades later this story would even be accepted by some native scholars. 

Welcome to Our Hillbrow

    In the novel "Welcome to Our Hillbrow" by Phaswane Mpe. This novel is an autobiography, written in second person narrative, and a metafiction. This novel takes you on a ride through the turmoil of Hillbrow. It deals with topics such as crime, drugs, rape, suicide, AIDS, and xenophobia. It's also a tale of love and betrayal. This book takes a look at Hillbrow from the perspective of one who lived there in a turbulent time.

    The second person narration that talks not back to the reader but to the protagonist of the story who has already passed when the book begins. It chronicles the events leading to his death revealing the entire picture from beginning to end, and jumps around a bit, but adds to the allure. The second person narration wasn't used consistently and I found that a bit confusing.

    A part that stood out to me was when the author, Lyn Di Iorio came to our class and spoke about trying to put a spell on her then boyfriend. They speak about Johannesburg women and what they can do to a man: You said: yes, some Johannesburg women are certainly terrible. But the same can be said of some Tiragalong women. Are some of them not known for throwing love potions into the food and drink of their husbands or illicit lovers ? Love potions that are sometimes so strong that they turned the men into madmen ?. (90)

    This novel hit home for me working in the health field, I have come across a lot of patients that have been raped, tried to commit suicide because of being betrayed by a partner or loved one. And many of them on drugs, or infected with AIDS. It's a very sad situation. They are very angry at themselves and towards others around them, and not that they mean to be, but they are. They no longer have the will to live. They are disowned by family and friends, and are basically left alone to die. It's a very sad situation, but it's a society we live in today.

    Definitely a novel where you sigh with some sadness at the end. Overall, a great, short read.

    I read that the author died suddenly at a young age, causes unclear, and I wonder if he himself contracted AIDS.

Reading Response 11/3

Reading Response 11/3

Phaswane Mpe, author of Welcome to our Hillbrow, takes us on a rough journey through Hillbrow, one of Johannesburg’s suburbs that is dominated by violence. He shows how living in South Africa during apartheid was brutal and unfortunate by exploring the issues of violence, AIDS, and death in this novel. When I began reading this novel, it was a bit difficult for me to understand who the narrator was because it felt like a different person was speaking every time I entered a new section. As I continued reading, I realized that there are different narratives speaking. I really enjoyed reading this novel, especially the first chapter Hillbrow, The Map. Mpe illustrates a detailed picture of Hillbrow and I was able to visualize how it looked. The naming of the streets and the directions that were given to get to the University were very specific (6). Even if you have never been to Johannesburg, Mpe is giving us the opportunity to envision the neighborhood which was really interesting.

The narrative point-of-view is mixed with characters' points-of-vie­­w in a very fascinating way. The actual author of the novel, Phaswane Mpe, writes in a second-person narrative throughout most of the text. The author within the novel, Refentše, is already dead by committing suicide. While Mpe addresses and tells the dead Refentše what he did, Refentše’s noticeable influence as a character is revealed and our own manipulation by the writer. Refentše writes a short story about a woman who contracts AIDS and is later despised by her community. I think a major point that Mpe wants to draw attention to is that we come to view people as they are, based on either what we have heard about them or as an outcome of the beliefs that we have about them, as individuals or as a group of people. The perspectives of the rural people were different from the city people because of the environment they grew up in and their beliefs. At Tiragalong, Refentše’s mother believed that Johannesburg women were all shameful, evil and destroyers of men. Because of this belief that she had, she opposed the relationship between Refentše and Lerato, a Johannesburg lady, who she has never met (39).

Refilwe’s point of view did change throughout the novel. Her trip to England to read for her Master’s at Oxford caused her perception to change. She was able to see past her biased stereotypes: “Hillbrowans were not merely the tiny section of the population who were brown and grew up in our Hillbrow, but people from all over the country, and other countries—people like herself, in fact—who entered our Hillbrow with all sorts of good and evil intentions” (96). She was exposed to the impressions and opinions of others toward Africans and South Africans, and she obtained a more considerate and open-minded understanding of the people she had once disliked as foreign. The author’s use of different perspectives in his novel helped us understand all the characters point of views which allowed us to see why their reactions and opinions were different from one another.

Reading Response 11/02

            You, Refentse, in our Hillbrow, you will have love found and love lost, you will betray, you will commit suicide. This is how the narration goes in the short novel, “Welcome to Our Hillbrow” by Phaswane Mpe. This short novel takes the reader, in this case you on a journey throughout a troubled neighborhood of Hillbrow located in Johannesburg, South Africa. Throughout this journey, the readers will experience the feeling of violence, lust, betrayal, more betrayal, suicides, deaths, and more deaths.

            As mentioned before, the narrative point of view is unique. The narrator is talking to you and telling you what is happening to your life. It’s like paving the road for you, but the story already happened. The narrator tells you all the bizarre things happening in Hillbrow, it tells you a history of the place, a crime that went on, the xenophobia that exists, and the tragedy that has happened. Throughout this novel, it can be noticed that “Welcome to our Hillbrow…” or something similar to it is repeated. The “our” doesn’t only include just “them” but also includes “you” as you are experiencing first hand what is going on in Hillbrow.

            One thing that caught my attention was how the narration of how one’s inner body was described. It was mentioned:

The boy in your trousers decided to express his sympathies too. You felt your heart begin to beat quite fast. Gentle drops of sweat began to do the rounds on your back. Your Dilating eyes sent a subtle message of love to Bohlale, although you would have tried harder – had you only known how – not to send such a message. It was, in its intention, an innocent message, but the conscience of friendship required that it should rather not be sent. (37)

The narration in this was unconventional. If the narrator is talking to “you” how would was it possible to describe all the physiological changes in one’s body such as dilating eyes, sweating back, or fastening of heartbeat when it’s hard to know such changes of someone in reality.

            This book didn’t interest me much in a somehow a good way. This book is very different than most books I’ve read. The narration is as I mentioned is unconventional. There are different possibilities of who the narrator is; it’s up the reader’s imagination to decide.

            

The novel Welcome to Our Hillbrow, was very interesting. It demonstrates what life is like in Hillbrow. It addresses issues such as suicide, aids, violence, prostitution and seduction. Although its about these serious issues the way the book is written makes it easy and enjoyable to read. It takes us on a journey through the story of why Refentse committed suicide, how Refilew dealt with Refentse suicide and why Lerato, Bohale and Sammy all did what they did.

This book is written in a very unique way. There are many different perspectives in this book, which help us understand better the different points of view of the characters. All of the characters are connected so the story flows well together. Since there are so many perspectives in the story its like the reader is getting the real deal unbiased story. We see everyone’s side of the story and can make our own judgments based on that.

For example, in the story Lerato cheats on Refentse with his close friend Sammy. We first see this from Refentse point of view and we automatically start assuming the worse about Letato. But then we see it from her point of view and we find out that the only reason it happeed was because she was seeking help from Bohale to help her relationship. Refentse was acting detached but she didn’t know why. Then we see from Refentse point of view that he had a reason for acting detached.

The book uses this same sort of back and forth style through out the entire book. It was very interesting to see how this sort of style came together. I have read other books where some authors try to do this but it often ends up being confusing. In this novel Phaswane MPE did a very good job at making everything flow together. It isn’t confusing or overwhelming. The book constantly changes perspectives but to give clarity to the reader as to why the characters do the things that they do. It switches from different characters perspectives to and omniscient perspective, where the narrator knows everything that is going on. Overall, I feel that the author did a great job at telling this story by using the different perspectives.