Living Coloured (Because Black and White were Already Taken)

Living Coloured (Because Black & White Were Already Taken) is a special kind of memoir that utilises short stories to weave together both a culturally insightful and an achingly nostalgic glimpse into a childhood on the Cape Flats. From the nightclubbing at Space Odyssey and the shenanigans at the Mitchells Plain public swimming pool, to the traditions of delectable food exchanges during Ramadan between Muslims and Christians alike, this book truly is a tribute to all that large parts of the Coloured community holds dear and sings of the spirit which helped them seek out an existence on the dusty flat plains of the Cape.

Daniels aptly illuminates a childhood and culture that is coloured by tender, joyful moments and bright mischievous teenage haunts against the backdrop of a gloomy political and economic era in South Africa’s history. With Living Coloured (Because Black & White Were Already Taken), the author shows that even under severe realities, people continue to live despite the odds not being in their favour – that they make it out alive.