The Childrens Day follows the life of Simon a boy living in a freestatevillage during the apartheid years of the 1960s. Through a series of finelydrawn and illu... » 

The Childrens Day follows the life of Simon a boy living in a freestatevillage during the apartheid years of the 1960s. Through a series of finelydrawn and illuminating episodes the novel captures the essence of what it waslike to grow up in a society fraught with strange and often violentcontradictions of class race gender and language. Adolescence in all itsangst and confusion is explored through the acute eyes of Simon who is tornbetween scorn for his surroundings and a desire to belong. It is through thelives of the novels poignant vulnerable and sometimes eccentric characters Mr. de Wet with his disconcerting eyes chinless Betty Miss Rheeder withher everpresent red shoes Trevor with his blonde bangs and pink shirt that Simon comes to understand what the complexity of love can mean. «