Love and Violence

Prominent podcaster and analyst Mbuyiseni Ndlozi begins his first book by sharing his own story of growing up fatherless. When he excelled at school, his father tried to claim him, but Ndlozi rejected him - he had no father other than God. Years later, however, while researching the violence of the 1980s in Sebokeng, where his father was a taxi owner, he unexpectedly comes across his father's name and decides to interview him.

Ndlozi's research explores colonial violence and its lasting impact, tracing how violence turned inward through 'black-on-black' violence and Black self-hatred. He examines the youth revolt of the 1980s, when Black youth fought to reclaim their humanity and escape 'permanent juniority' - the condition of always waiting to become fully adult, yet never truly living in time.

The book also examines the relationship between social and anti-social violence, including phenomena such as com-tsotsis, and considers how politics can become the politics of love.

Deeply thoughtful and uncompromising, Love and Violence offers a stimulating and highly relevant read.