The Long Way Home (Virago, June 1994) reviewed by Luci Davin THIS IS an autobiographical account of political exile and return. Central to the story is an escape from a South African prison. In a way there are two rather separate stories, AnnMarie Wolpe's own and that of her husband, Harold.
Harold Wolpe was a member of the ANC and the South African Communist Party, illegal organisations in 1960s South Africa. He acted as lawyer to Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and others jailed in the Rivonia trials.
In 1963 the government's repression of its opponents intensified and it became clear that left-wing political activ- n ists had to choose between permanent imprisonment or even death, and continuing the struggle from abroad. AnnMarie Wolpe describes meeting with Joe Slovo and Ruth First for a clandestine farewell dinner.
A large amount of the book is about Harold's arrest and imprisonment and his escape, via Swaziland. Botswana and Zaire to Dar-es-Salaam, and eventually to London.
The story made international headlines, as all kinds of obstacles cropped up. The details are quite astonishing, but it stays a very factual adventure story, and never gets beyond its contines as a second-hand narrative of events. Even at the most gripping moments I felt distanced.
In many ways AnnMarie's portrayal of her own feelings is more interesting. She describes personalities, relationships, her family.
She writes about her thoughts on leaving South Africa, and on the return in 1990. She didn't choose to leave, but once settled in England, she made a career in developing and teaching Women's Studies courses at Middlesex Polytechnic, and of writing on feminism.
She's aware of the contradictions between her feminism and her life, following her husband around. Harold takes it for granted they'll return to stop our