117 DAYS

by Ruth First ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 17, 1965

The author, an active member of the underground anti-Nationalist movement in South Africa, was incarcerated through the infamous Ninety-Day detention law that is used as a security whip by the government. The victims of this law, known as ""politicals,"" are ""detained"" in prison without specific charge, ostensibly to answer questions to the satisfaction of the government or to face possible persecution. Miss First, a professional journalist, presents a vivid picture of her experience while managing to maintain a dispassionate level of objectivity. Her first fifty-six days in a Johannesburg jail were spent literally on top of her bed in a cell six by eight feet. Isolated, with little to interrupt the day (no books or conversations were allowed), her contact became one of peephole observation and prison sound. The Wardresses became personalized by their voices: ""Raucous,"" ""Shrill,"" (Raucous' equally ugly sister) and ""Pained"" (bunions). A transfer to the Woman's Central Prison brought an alternating pattern of increased pressure through interrogation and stifling solitude. Her release after ninety days was immediately followed by rearrest for a second period. Along with her personal history she has recorded the fate of other ""politicals."" An able documentary by a resilient woman that offers a close look at the nature of the Nationalist Regime-with its strict doctrine of apartheid.

Pub Date: Aug. 17, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Stein & Day

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1965

Categories: NONFICTION