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me2brett's review against another edition
3.0
A murder mystery set in Apartheid-era South Africa, recommended on twitter as insight into life under an authoritarian regime. The mystery is engaging and has good twists. I'll admit to having to google certain concepts in order to understand some of the minor plot points which relied on a familiarity with South African history/culture. Not a light read, but a worthwhile one.
cleheny's review against another edition
4.0
McClure's Kramer and Zondi mysteries are great books. Set in apartheid South Africa, and featuring an Afrikaaner lieutenant (Kramer) and Zulu sergeant (Zondi), they explore the tensions inherent in South African society while also featuring compelling mysteries. As one might imagine, the racial issues--the classifications, their terrible social, legal, and practical effects, and the grotesque inequities of South African society--are always present. But McClure explores other tensions, too. For example, interracial tensions between the disadvantaged minorities and cultural tensions between the English and Afrikaaner whites are also depicted. Gender norms and sterotypes, and the puritanical social norms enforced by the government are also shown.
The relationship between Kramer and Zondi is fascinating. It is evident that they are close in many ways; Kramer's white colleagues often view their professional partnership skeptically or critically. It may be that Zondi is Kramer's only real friend, but that friendship is complicated by the fact that Zondi will never be seen as an equal--not those by around him and not by Kramer.
The mystery at the heart of The Steam Pig involves the murder of a young white woman with a mysterious past. The plot gives McClure a chance to illuminate some of the consequences of South Africa's elaborate racial classification system--its devastating effects and the way in which it could be used against people. The story gets a bit convoluted in the final third of the novel, but it's involving and sad. Kramer's reaction to what he learns and the people he comes into contact with makes him a more sympathetic character than many of his white compatriots. He seems enlightened. And then McClure reveals Kramer's last thought, and you realize just how embedded the racial and gender attitudes are.
The relationship between Kramer and Zondi is fascinating. It is evident that they are close in many ways; Kramer's white colleagues often view their professional partnership skeptically or critically. It may be that Zondi is Kramer's only real friend, but that friendship is complicated by the fact that Zondi will never be seen as an equal--not those by around him and not by Kramer.
The mystery at the heart of The Steam Pig involves the murder of a young white woman with a mysterious past. The plot gives McClure a chance to illuminate some of the consequences of South Africa's elaborate racial classification system--its devastating effects and the way in which it could be used against people. The story gets a bit convoluted in the final third of the novel, but it's involving and sad. Kramer's reaction to what he learns and the people he comes into contact with makes him a more sympathetic character than many of his white compatriots. He seems enlightened. And then McClure reveals Kramer's last thought, and you realize just how embedded the racial and gender attitudes are.
zzzrevel's review against another edition
2.0
I had read the Kramer/Zondi series a long time ago and
had remembered it fondly, that is, until I just re-read
this one now. It is very uneven and hard to follow.
The mystery itself is one that you can get the gist
of as you go along, but it just was not that enjoyable
in retrospect.
had remembered it fondly, that is, until I just re-read
this one now. It is very uneven and hard to follow.
The mystery itself is one that you can get the gist
of as you go along, but it just was not that enjoyable
in retrospect.
wordesmith's review against another edition
This is a hard book to read. And interestingly, when you have all of the appropriate knowledge about South Africa during apartheid to understand it, that simultaneously makes it easier *and* harder at the same time. One of those books that you are glad you read but didn't really enjoy either, despite the excellent quality of the prose...
jmeston's review against another edition
3.0
As the author intends we get to imagine how appalling it would be to be racially reclassified and sent to another neighborhood, school, etc. Plenty of victims.
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