''My Traitor's Heart'' is an

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

book by

Rian Malan Rian Malan is a South African author, journalist, documentarist and songwriter of Afrikaner descent. He first rose to prominence as the author of the memoir '' My Traitor's Heart'' (1990), which, like the bulk of his work, deals with South Afr ...

first published in 1990 on his return from exile. It is subtitled ''South African Exile Returns to Face His Country, His Tribe and His Conscience'' or ''Blood and Bad Dreams: A South African Exile Explores the Madness in His Country, His Tribe and Himself''. The book describes Malan's experience of growing up in

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

-era South Africa in which he explores race relations through prominent murder cases. In addition, he reflects on the history of his family, a prominent Afrikaner clan that migrated to the Cape in the 17th century and included

Daniel François Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforce ...

, the

South African Prime Minister The prime minister of South Africa ( was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed. He was appointed ...

who was a principal ideological force behind Apartheid doctrine. The book became a best-seller, was translated into 11 languages and was still in print 14 years later. It has been called brilliant.

References

1990 non-fiction books American autobiographies Books about apartheid Atlantic Monthly Press books {{Apartheid-sa-book-stub