Moffie

A gay South African endures military conscription during the Angola Bush War in this autobiographical novel of persecution and hope- An "e;electrifying debut"e; (Shelf Awareness).Nicholas van der Swart always knew he was different, but to avoid the violent punishments that come with being gay in Apartheid South Africa, he has carefully kept his true self a secret. By the standards of his brutal father and the machismo culture of Afrikaners, "e;moffies"e; like him deserve nothing but scorn. Then, at nineteen years old, Nicholas is drafted into the South African army. He soon finds himself caught in a world entirely at odds with his identity, forced to fight for a cause he doesn't believe in. Here, he will face the hatred and violence of his tormenters, but will also experience his first glimmers of love, and finally find the strength to survive.A long overdue account of Apartheid South Africa's criminalization of homosexuality, Andre Carl van der Merwe's acclaimed debut novel is the basis for the critically acclaimed film Moffie, directed by Oliver Hermanus.

Set in "Ward 22" during the Angola Bush War that raged from 1966 to 1989 in South-west Africa, with evocative realism, Moffie transports the reader into the world of a young gay conscript ironically defending a regime that actively supresses his identity. 

Nicholas van der Swart has always known he is different. Unable to live up to the expectations his family, his heritage and his culture have of him, he grows increasingly diffident and introverted. When, at the age of 19, he is conscripted into the South African army, he enters a world that is utterly at odds with his every sensibility. Here, he will face the scorn and violence of his tormenters, but will also find the strength to survive.

Although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa has gone a long way toward exposing and exorcising some of the atrocities committed in the name of Apartheid, very little has been revealed about the adversities faced by gays under the regime. 

At turns heart wrenching and humorous, told with great sensitivity and infused with hopeMoffie is a long overdue account of a vital subject, place and time.