Lauren St. John’s novel The White Giraffe tells the story of a young girl’s journey to find her way out of grief and develop her magical ability to heal animals. Set in the lush landscape of South Africa, St. John reveals the country to be a place rich in biodiversity and teeming with life. However, she does not shy away from discussing the country’s painful past and uses the character of Tendai to tell part of South Africa’s story. Though South Africa is no longer under the rule of an imperialist nation, just like Tendai’s scarred body, it still bears the scars of colonization, racial inequality, and brutal dehumanization.

The earliest known inhabitants of South Africa, hunter-gatherers called the San and Khoekhoe peoples, or “the Bushmen,” lived over 100,000 years ago and had rich cultures, thriving on the natural resources that the land offered. Europeans first made contact in South Africa in the 15th century when Portuguese explorers Bartholomew Dias and Vasco de Gama reached the southern tip of Africa. Although the Portuguese set up settlements in the area, the Dutch were the first Europeans to colonize South Africa and set up their trading post for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope.