![]() ![]() Stranger responds that he has always wanted to go there and so that is where they decide to meet. ![]() Elva suggests a few different cities around the world to meet. After eight years of correspondence Elva asks Stranger if he will meet her to talk in person about the events of the night when she was 16 and Stranger, her boyfriend at the time, raped her. It starts as Elva is about to set off for Cape Town the place where she has agreed to meet Stranger. South of Forgiveness is primarily Elva’s account, though it is interspersed with diary entries from Stranger, and copies of some of the emails they sent each other. The additional revelations in the book and the way the encounter between Elva and Stranger in Cape Town is framed left me feeling uncomfortable, with more questions than answers. However I tried to keep an open mind while reading. ![]() I read it with trepidation, having been a very vocal opponent of the TED talk. Where the talk sensationalises the story of how rape victim Thordis Elva manages to forgive her rapist Tom Stranger, the book they co-wrote is a much more nuanced account. South of Forgiveness follows on from the controversial TED talk ‘Rape and Reconciliation’. CN: This review includes references to and descriptions of rape, sexual assault/violence and harassment. ![]()
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