What readers say about A Chameleon from the Land of the Quagga: An immigrant's story by Joan Bismillah
In Bismillah’s debut memoir, she discusses growing up in South Africa under apartheid, encountering prejudice toward mixed-race relationships, and escaping oppression through immigration. “This multi-hued society” of South Africa “should have adopted the quagga, that extinct beast with its varicoloured body, as an emblem for the country,” writes the author. In this book, Bismillah looks back on a life affected by racial segregation, and her remembrance has a sense of urgency: “Alzheimer’s, lurking in a recess of my brain, threatened to distort my recollections to a deconstructed, Picasso-like abstraction,” she discloses.  Read More...
 A Chameleon from the Land of the Quagga is a memoir that’s broad in scope yet sharp in its depiction of apartheid South Africa. Joan Bismillah’s sophisticated memoir A Chameleon from the Land of the Quagga covers a strenuous time in history. 
Bismillah was born in South Africa in 1928. One of her first memories is of her mother dying on her seventh birthday, after which she and her four siblings lived with their overbearing grandmother, with whom Bismillah often butted heads. During World War II, she and her sisters were sent to a convent school, where she spent her teenage years. She met her future husband, a South Africa born Muslim Indian, when they were students. Read More...
READERS' COMMENTS
"I enjoyed reading your book so much that I read it in two days.
You are truly an inspiration and incredible human being.
I relived my own life in South Africa and my immigration to Canada."
Bella L.
"A Chameleon in the Land of the Quagga is a well written, passionate memoir, first and foremost a love story that survives the uncivilized violence of legalized racism in a heinous apartheid regime. Joan’s writing is lyrical but she does not hold back.
She is direct and stark about the hazards she and Dr.Bismillah faced, those that were from government spies and thugs and those that were more subtle and covert. It’s a story of survival and definitely worth the rapturous read."
Vicky B.
"I read the book and was intrigued and fascinated by the story. I could relate to some of the experiences being born in the 50's under apartheid government. This book would make a box selling movie. Congratulations on a well written book . "
Rashida B.
​"I would think that many people have some awareness of the terrible living conditions under Apartheid in South Africa.  Our knowledge is primarily from the perspective of the political historian knowing , for example, that a Canadian prime minister led the international community in its opposition to Apartheid.  However, A Chameleon from the Land of the Quagga  provides a social historian’s view, from the perspective of the individual.  Because it has been written in the first person, it is a most intimate narrative that has a major impact on the reader’s emotions.   Furthermore, we have been made aware over the years to the consequent suffering of the black population; unusually, this book exposes the difficulties and cruelties suffered by the other visible minorities (non-Europeans).  The anguish that the author and her family have undergone is beyond belief; it is only because I have known the author for many years (over fifty) that her story is credible.
I originally read the book because it was written by a good friend; I was curious.  However, this is a book that I can recommend to others because it is so well written, so clear and  so difficult to put down.  It is shocking to read what conditions and impositions from the authorities  Joan and her family have had to deal with.  Her resilience, resourcefulness and perseverance is truly impressive.  How fortunate we are to live in Canada! On the back cover of the book, the following statement is made: “she wrote A Chameleon from the Land of the Quagga because she hopes to inspire women, young and old, to be proud of who they are and never hold back.”  Clearly, Joan Bismillah has been most successful in achieving that hope. 
My hope is that she writes another book."
Lou H