This was an entertaining and informative read. I found myself sharing what I learned from this book with those around me. I recommend it to fans of good and highly readable non-fiction.

This is a very important book. All the best to Fairbanks for other brave and insightful ventures.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

This is a book where the author explores an ugly subject with a piercing eye and an even hand. I am not sure how much people are aware of how bad Apartheid was and how it poisoned so many people, Black and white and the after affects of all that once Apartheid was abolished.

Told from the perspective of three people that the author was friends with [with personal reflections from the author and other people she has known], this book is full of emotions and thought-provoking dialogue. Mixed with history [both true and what was perceived by these three people], it is a very compelling tale that at times made me so angry I could hardly continue and at times made me weep so hard I could not see the page and the end was just heartbreaking. It would seem that there is no real happy ending here - South Africa continues to suffer and struggle to find peace out of the chaos that ruled it for so long.

This is a well-written book that you will not be sorry you read. I learned so much.

Thank you to NetGalley, Eve Fairbanks, and Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Inheritors was an interesting book. It centered around three lives: Christo, a white South African, Dipuo and Mallika, Black South Africans. Malaika was Dipuo's daughter. All three were racist.

The book talked about the struggles during and post apartheid. During apartheid the government was obviously white and they oppressed the Blacks. Post apartheid Nelson became the first Black president and the government was run by the ANC.

Christo was a farm boy who enlisted in the military. He wanted to run covert operations and he got his wish. While serving, he killed man and it seriously affected him. When he got out of the military he went to a white college. While there he became a dorm father. He ran his dorm like the military. The boys seemed to like it and became role models. Eventually, under Black government the college was integrated. Of course that didn't sit well with Christo. He strove to keep his dorm white. He felt justified in his racism. There were many problems at the college, mostly the Blacks feeling disrespected. After a while the college got a new president who was prointegration. Before long Christo's dorm was shut down. But that didn't stop him. He went to another school and started over.

Dipuo and her daughter were activists. Their racism ran deep. Dipuo was nicknamed Stalin. They fought long and hard against discrimination. They were two very strong women. It seems all of their role models died at the hands of white people. Malaika ended up going to university. She took up with a very wealthy Black man who became like a father figure to her. He provided for her financially and included her in his family. She ended up writing a blog on her Facebook page. In the end Dipuo died of cancer.

This book spoke of the very real problems facing South Africans before and after integration. It depicted the plight of the Blacks and the privilege of the whites. At first I thought it was extremely technical. I wanted more about the stars of the book. As I read I came to realize that which I thought was technical was necessary to tell the story. I walked away with a deep sense of what South Africans experienced, especially what Blacks had to put up with at the hands of the whites. It would be easy to hate the whites and feel sorry for the Blacks. Fortunately, hatred is not in my vocabulary. But I do understand the fight of the Blacks. Their land was stolen from them. It would take a tremendous amount of restitution to make things right. I'm pulling for the Blacks and hope the whites get what they've got coming to them. My hope is that justice will be served.

Such a poignant novel truly was insightful. The research that went into this was evident and impactful. Great read!