Franschhoek Literary Festival

“When someone else writes about your life, there will always be parts of the portrayal that you do not like.”

This is what Pippa Green, the author of Choice, Not Fate – the Life and Times of Trevor Manuel, said during the discussion entitled “The Lives of Others” at the Franschhoek Literary Festival. Green, Jeremy Gordin (Zuma) and Zubeida Jaffer (Love in the Time of Treason) spoke to Jenny Crwys-Williams about the precarious relationship between biographer and subject.

Green tried to gain Manuel’s trust by not misquoting him and by checking her facts. It was important for her to get his permission to write the book. She also conducted about 20 interviews with him saying that “without his voice the biography would have been flat.”

Gordin started to write Zuma’s biography without getting his permission. When next he saw Zuma, he told him about it. “I don’t think he was deliriously happy. He wants to write his own book and he is weary of journalists.” According to Gordin they now have a good relationship.

Jaffer started out as a friend of Ayesha Dawood, the subject of Love in the time of treason. She was instrumental in bringing Dawood back from exile and used to regularly visit her and her husband. “I had the opportunity to collect details over the years” said Jaffer. Although the couple was very conservative, they trusted Jaffer enough to open up to her and allow her to write their love story.