45 pages • 1 hour read
Antjie KrogCountry of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “They Never Wept, the Men of My Race”
In this first chapter, Krog sets up her style for the rest of the book—fractured pieces of information, stories, poetry, and memories that come together to form a whole piece. She provides fragments of the political process that leads to the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), especially noting the disagreements between the black African National Congress (ANC) and Afrikaner National Party (NP). Afrikaners largely worry that the TRC will be a witch hunt targeting whites as a form of retaliation for apartheid, and both sides disagree as to whether focus belongs on victims or perpetrators. As Krog notes, “Every discussion opens up a new problem area” (9).
While focusing mostly on the arguments in the Assembly, Krog also briefly addresses issues the legislation runs into when sent to the Senate, where the Senators demand changes just for the sake of changes. Ultimately the “Truth Commission Bill was signed into law by President Nelson Mandela on July 19, 1995” (15).
Sprinkled between explanations of the formation of the legislation, Krog includes two other notable fragments. One is a visit to South Africa by Queen Elizabeth II. The other is Krog’s memory of her experiences at home with her family shortly before the formation of the TRC, in which she and her brothers discuss the difficulties her brothers have had with their farm since the ending of apartheid and election of Nelson Mandela. Krog’s Afrikaner family feels threatened in the new South Africa, having to defend their farm against thievery and attacks.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “None More Parted Than Us”
Chapter 2 covers the period between the passing of the TRC bill and the actual formation of the Commission. Krog attends a workshop designed to prepare journalists during which many of the same arguments arise as did in the political arena while forming the Commission. She describes the workshop as “the Anglo-Boer War all over again” (21).
Throughout this section, Krog devotes considerable focus to raising questions about race, gender, morality, and truth. As she describes the process of choosing the Commissioners, Krog tries to give their task a moral and ethical context through which to view the work. Krog briefly describes each of the Commissioners chosen, singling out Archbishop Desmond Tutu as the Chair and why he is particularly well suited to the position.
Krog also describes her team having to duck out of the Commission proceedings in order to attend an event at Nelson Mandela’s residence, marking the first of numerous frantic moments that Krog and her colleagues experience during their time covering the TRC.
Krog expresses her own prior misgivings about the TRC and its ability to do the job it’s meant to do. She acknowledges that she came around to the idea during a conference organized by Alex Boraine, who eventually becomes Deputy Chair of the TRC. Krog comes to understand that South Africa cannot hold trials the way Germany and Japan did because “the overthrown regime is part of the new government and still has enough power to obstruct the inquests into any abuses or to start a new civil war” (31).
Part 1 Analysis
Country of My Skull does not have a strict narrative structure; instead, it explores several themes and ideas that have no clear resolution. Two primary narratives twine together—that of the TRC itself, and of Krog’s personal experiences and inner turmoil in covering the TRC. Many of the issues Krog wrestles with personally directly reflect discussions or arguments happening within the TRC. Krog lays the groundwork for both narratives during this first section while describing the setting up of the TRC.
While most of the book’s themes begin taking shape in Part 1, the clearest and most fundamental is that of race. Racism and the struggles between indigenous Africans and white colonizers are an integral part of South Africa’s history, dating back to well before apartheid began. Apartheid exacerbated those conflicts, pushing them to extreme degrees of violence and discrimination, and as Krog observes, the TRC’s purpose is essentially an attempt to make sense of how South Africa ended up where it did, and how to prevent similar disasters in the future. While most politicians seem to agree that they must address, they disagree significantly about what, and those disagreements largely fall between parties of different races.
Besides focusing primarily on conflicts between black South Africans and Afrikaners, Krog touches upon issues of gender disparity and misogyny, trauma, and feelings of invasion by foreign press and politicians who do not understand South Africa and have a limited understanding of what is taking place. Krog also starts her discourse about the nature of truth in this section, which carries through the remainder of the book, as an undercurrent to Krog’s process of self-reflection and reflection on what the TRC means for South Africa as a whole.
