The Middle Children is a collection of fourteen short stories written by South African writer Rayda Jacobs, based mostly on her experience living through apartheid and published in Canada in 1994.
[1] Through these short stories the reader learns about apartheid, exile, and living as a black person who can pass as white (referred to as middle children), as well as the struggles that come with it, through the main character's eyes.
Madula is centered around a moment in her childhood where her Paternal grandfather is setting up a traditional Muslim sacrifice of a cow in her backyard.
[2]: 21 Billie Can’t Poo, Don’t Mention it, and Make the Chicken Run are stories that feature Sabah after she has moved to Canada.
[2]: 125 Make the Chicken Run is the fourteenth story and features an inner monologue from Sabah before she votes in Canada; she reflects on how her life has changed.
I Count the Bullets Sometimes follows the story of presumably wealthy black family the son, Nazeem who makes a white friend at the private school he goes to.
Attached to the theme of racism is the identity crisis faced by South Africa's mixed-race citizens, who can sometimes pass for white; this leads to its own set of problems including jealousy.
The first story of the collection, also titled The Middle Children discusses the privileges that come with being white passing, such as being able to go to university or allowed to sit at the front of the train.
[4] It is regarded as a valuable resource on the lived experiences of South African people particularly surrounding the issues of race and The Apartheid.