Tharindu Dissanayake's Reviews > Long Walk To Freedom

"Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."

I'm not one for writing long reviews: I simply lack the patience, and usually end-up writing a concise review before jumping to the next book. However, every now and then, when I do come across something special, I find it inexcusable to move away hastily, before properly conveying my acclamation. 'A Long Walk To Freedom', it turns out, is very, very special. If I used all my highlights, the quotes alone could've made a lengthy review. Without any doubt, this is the best, and most impactful book I've read this year so far.

"Nurture, rather than nature, is the primary molder of personality."

"It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."

"I wondered—not for the first time—whether one was ever justified in neglecting the welfare of one’s own family in order to fight for the welfare of others. Can there be anything more important than looking after one’s aging mother? Is politics merely a pretext for shirking one’s responsibilities, an excuse for not being able to provide in the way one wanted?"

Nelson Mandela is a person who needs no introduction. Aside from being one of the main political leaders who guided South Africa away from Apartheid, he was a man of morals, of vision, and above all, someone capable of seeing and understanding all human beings as equals. Even with all that making his life story a worthy read, it is reasonable for a reader to be hesitant in selecting between one of the other biographies of him and this autobiography. After all, more often than not, autobiographies tend to be subjective, somewhat distorted by the narrator's personal opinions. Don't let that be the reason why you stay away from this masterpiece. 'A Long Walk To Freedom', in my opinion, is as objective as it could get, without any of the author's personal views altering the reality of the events. And that is saying a lot, considering he spent almost three decades in prison, while his family was facing a continuous struggle, under a government that depended on racial discrimination.

"A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness."

"I was seven years old, and on the day before I was to begin, my father took me aside and told me that I must be dressed properly for school. Until that time, I, like all the other boys in Qunu, had worn only a blanket, which was wrapped around one shoulder and pinned at the waist. My father took a pair of his trousers and cut them at the knee. He told me to put them on, which I did, and they were roughly the correct length, although the waist was far too large. My father then took a piece of string and cinched the trousers at the waist. I must have been a comical sight, but I have never owned a suit I was prouder to wear than my father’s cut-off pants."

Journey starts with Mandela's family background, and early childhood memories. These early parts are relatively uneventful but provides a good understanding of the average African's aspects of life. Then we move on to his education, where he dives deeper to explain the education system at that time, and the limited facilities available to a student. Despite encountering numerous difficulties, he does not dawdle around those limitations, as, at the time, he had assumed those to be the accepted conditions of life for an African child. His political life only starts when he moves to Johannesburg, where he starts working while pursuing his higher education.

"I have always thought a man should own a house near the place he was born, where he might find a restfulness that eludes him elsewhere."

"In love, unlike politics, caution is not usually a virtue."

"After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one’s person."

The next few parts sets the overall direction of his life, where he joins politics, meets like-minded individuals, and becomes more and more active in the political arena. Usually, I prefer to stay away from books on politics, but the this book managed to keep me immersed even across completely political chapters. The logical, yet empathetic narrative kept me engaged, and I did not feel like skipping a single part. Again, I think this is due to the undistorted representation of events. Had the writing been influenced by any anger, it would have felt like a long criticism. The objective nature of the narrative completely shifts the book away from being a rant, to what feels like a great analysis. But what came after these political movement chapters were the most interesting one's for me, which were about his prison life. In these parts, the focus rapidly moves away from the external factors, and to the development of internal character of Mandela, where he spends most of his time contemplating a methodology for reaching a long-lasting peace.

"At pollsmoor I first understood the truth of Oscar Wilde's haunting line about the tent of blue that prisoners call the sky."

"To a narrow-thinking person, it is hard to explain that to be 'educated' does not only mean being literate and having a B.A., and that an illiterate man can be a far more 'educated' voter than someone with an advanced degree."

"While Mr. Sidelsky imparted his views of the law, he warned me against politics. Politics, he said, brings out the worst in men. It was the source of trouble and corruption, and should be avoided at all costs."

I believe, Mandela's character will teach most readers about humility and humbleness on a level that is only paralleled by characters like Lincoln, Gandhi, and MLK Jr. Though his part in uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) does deviate significantly from aforementioned characters, the underlying system of belief is more or less identical. Even after all he had gone through, Mandela's not being overly critical towards the opposition is commendable. He always addresses the issues of the system, not the individuals who are forced to act.

"The hurly-burly of city life has a way of erasing the past."

"There is little favorable to be said about poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor. If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent. Yet, poverty often brings out the true generosity in others."

I believe this book should be read by every person, no matter where your interests lie. But the catch is, you'll have to be patient with this, and ready to invest the time it requires to make it to the end. Even if you find the middle parts too political, or too slow, don't give up. Unlike with fiction, don't be in a hurry to get to the end. It gets better, and better, and better, all the way to the end. You'll be glad you've done so, for, it is the journey not the destination that matters with this one, literally. The phenomenal reading experience, and the life experiences the book offers are well worth the long time it warrants.

"A mother’s death causes a man to look back on and evaluate his own life. Her difficulties, her poverty, made me question once again whether I had taken the right path. That was always the conundrum: Had I made the right choice in putting the people’s welfare even before that of my own family?"

"To humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate."

"The passing of the regent removed from the scene an enlightened and tolerant man who achieved the goal that marks the reign of all great leaders: he kept his people united. Liberals and conservatives, traditionalists and reformers, white-collar officials and blue-collar miners, all remained loyal to him, not because they always agreed with him, but because the regent listened to and respected all different opinions."

After a really, really long walk (took me 30+ hours to finish this), I'm glad to say, this book checked all the boxes for me, not just a few, all the way from writing style to the contents. I was never a fervent follower of politics, or social movements, but, once I started re-living the author's experiences with this book, I kept going for hours each time. I'm still surprised how I made it to the end without skipping a single sentence. A Long Walk to freedom has indeed been a long journey, but it has easily made it to my all-time-favorites, and all-must-read shelves. Irrespective of one's reading choices, this is a book one must read in his life time, and I urge every single one of your to add this to your reading list.

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

The air of one's home always smells sweet after one has been away.