“˜Embrace’ explores sexuality, identity in apartheid society

By Leila Mobayen
Daily Bruin Contributor

On Wednesday night, South African author Mark Behr spoke at
Royce Hall. The critically acclaimed author read a selection from
his latest novel, “Embrace.”

Behr, who has received much acclaim, including the Los Angeles
Times Book Award for his 1993 novel, “The Smell of
Apples,” has made a name for himself in what has been called
a new genre of testimonial literature.

After a grand introduction, Behr exuded the utmost modesty by
declaring that he was unworthy of such praise.

“I am simply a scared man, slightly nervous, a lover and a
friend and a number of other identities beyond the writer,”
Behr said.

“Embrace” is a pseudo-autobiographical novel about
apartheid South Africa told from the point of view of an adult
white male looking back on his childhood. The story is the tale of
a young boy dealing with his re-pressed homosexuality.

Behr read a passage from the novel, which explicitly described a
sexual encounter between the young boy and his significantly older
musical conductor/instructor.

“I juxtaposed homosexual pedophilia with brutalities in
the text, which, I hope, raised the question of our society’s
obsession with childhood sexuality,” Behr said.

The juxtaposition is especially clear as Behr’s heartfelt
descriptions of childish emotions, tempered with adult reflection,
tackles serious political and social issues with the simple and
frank clarity of a youthful voice.

Besides its sexual content, the book also investigates the
symbolism involved with nature and language.

Behr illustrates society’s adoration of nature and uses
language as a symbol of acceptance and power. By incorporating the
South African Afrikaans dialect in various parts of the story, the
author effectively communicates to the reader the same isolation
felt by the marginal peoples of South Africa.

After reading two different passages from the tale, Behr opened
up the floor for questions during which time he spoke candidly
about his sexuality and its role in his writing.

“My writing is a method of a reclamation of my own body
and I’m stealing this (style) from female African American
writers,” Behr said.

He also spoke of the political implications of his work, subtly
addressing the major social problems of South Africa.

“The politics lurk there,” Behr said. “The
racism lurks in every third paragraph.”

Behr was born in Tanzania and raised in South Africa. He
currently holds a professorship at several institutions, including
the Vista University of Johannesburg, and is currently working on a
new novel, “Kings of the Water.”

“Kings of the Water” is different from Behr’s
previous work because it is the first novel that he has populated
with solely North American main characters.

Behr also plans to write two more volumes in the
“Embrace” sequence.

He is no stranger to the fiction genre; his critically acclaimed
book “The Smell of Apples” looks at the deep-rooted
racism through the eyes of a child, this time an 11-year-old boy
who unconsciously repeats his Major-General father’s biases
as he prepares to become a soldier of the white South African
state.

“Everything I say or write is frequently filtered through
the lens of my political past,” Behr said. Even so, he is
first and foremost a fictional writer who delights in educating and
entertaining his audience by using his background as a source of
inspiration.