When Rain Clouds Gather

I had purchased this book years ago while in college and it was just taking up space on my bookshelf. I finally got around to reading it and I am so glad that I did. It is a wonderfully written and poignant story. That love prevails at the end is just icing on the cake. Highly recommended.

"When Rain Clouds Gather" plot set is in Botswana in the 1960s, a country ridden with poverty and "primitive" agriculture, that is going through a process of independence from Britain. As a mirror view, we have independent South Africa - racist, violent and oppressive to the black population. After serving time in prison, Fleeing the violence and oppression of South Africa in the mid-1960s, Makhaya crosses the border into Botswana. Here he finds himself in a poverty-stricken rural village - He moves to a rural town named Golema Mmidi ("to grow crops") and finds it populated with people who, like himself, are seeking a better life. Golama Mmidi is a place very different from his native Johannesburg. It is a time of great change for Botswana, as the country approaches independence. Along with an idealistic English agriculturist, Balfour, Makhaya becomes involved in the villagers' struggle to adopt new agricultural techniques. In doing so, the community must overcome rigid customs, a corrupt local chief, and the unrelenting climate. Makhaya must struggle too against the bitterness and hatred within him that are a legacy of his life in South Africa.This book has several layers of interesting political meanings. The plot of the book is not "political" per-se - the story is about the private lives of a private person, who happens to be a political activist and a political exile. Moreover, it is strongly affected by Bessie Head's private life: Bessie Head was born in South Africa in 1937, the result of an 'illicit' union between a black man and a white woman. Her life was a traumatic one, and she drew heavily upon her own experiences for her novels. Unsuccessful marriage and her involvement in the trial of a friend led her to apply for a teaching post in Botswana, where she took up permanent exile. She greatly resisted attempts to categorize her writing as "African" or "feminist". Her work is highly individualized, rather than political, and defies this type of classification as a result.On the other hand, we can't avoid the political. This book deals with several political issues. First, and foremost, Apartheid. The apartheid system in South Africa is firmly in place. It is a massive system of legalized segregation, repression, and domination by the white minority--first British and then later Afrikaaner. Long before the system was enacted formally - following the 1948 elections with the passage by the new Afrikaner government of increasingly restrictive and repressive legislation - the Blacks (and other "coloured" people) suffered unofficial discrimination. During the early 1960s, opposition against Apartheid among Blacks and few Whites begins to show its first buds. The political activity of the opposition parties (Mandela's African National Congress and the Pan-African Congress) was banned in 1961. After political activism failed, the ANC formed a military wing to begin armed resistance. Two years later, Mandela was imprisoned. He was not released

When Rain Clouds Gather is just a wonderful tale. I found myself unable to put it down simply because the narrative itself is fascinating. Perhaps this is because I was reading about a place I know very little about and a culture that is still a mystery to me. After reading it, I was left more curious about Bessie Head as a person than anything else and the place from whence she came. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is curious about a people unlike any other, described by a woman who's been there and lived inside the story.

This book really touched me in the sense that you were inside of Botswana living the rugid life. It was amazing, especially living in America, to read and experience that lifestyle through Bessie Head. She really kept to her plot and branched off staying steady. She is amazing!

This book was beautiful! I enjoyed reading the plot and the interesting twists that she added. Politically and emotionally stimulating!