Damon Galgut

This is the third South African book I’ve read, all of which have dealt with apartheid, and all of which have been written by white people. Which isn’t meant as a criticism, I quite enjoyed this book. It chronicles the downfall of the Swartz family, Afrikaaners who own a farm. The novel opens immediately after the death of the mother, Rachel, and the promise she extracts before she passes from her husband to give the family’s longtime Black servant the title to the home she lives in. This promise is witnessed by the youngest of the family’s three children, Amor, but is not immediately fulfilled and remains unresolved over the years as the remaining members of the family move on with their lives. The prose is the highlight of this book, filled with sharp, witty observations and insights, while the characters (particularly Amor) remain at a sometimes-frustrating remove.… (mehr)

The book is set in South Africa and begins in 1986 just as the drive to eliminate apartheid begins. It is the story of the Afrikaner Swart family and their farm located outside Pretoria over 4 decades and 4 deaths. Amor is 13 and the youngest of three children when her mother, Rachael Swart, dies of a long illness. She overhears a promise that her mother extracted from her father shortly before her mother dies: the house in which their long-time Black servant, Salome, lives should be deeded to her. Her mother and father, Manie, have had a 20-year stressful marriage. Rachael, née Cohn, was originally Jewish but gave up that religion when she married. At the end of her life, she decides to return to her Jewish heritage and be buried in the Jewish cemetery instead of in her husband's family plot. This causes much concern and angst among the family members on both sides. Amor has two older siblings, Astrid and Anton, 19, and away in the military at the time of his mother's death. He is given 7 days leave to return home but decides to desert instead. The book is divided into four chapters, one for each death, Ma, Pa, Astrid, and Anton. For each death, the situation and people are described, with Amor asking each time if the promise of the house for Salome will now be honored. Amor leaves home to travel and eventually become a nurse and is in contact with only her sister or brother, but returns for each of the deaths. Not my favorite story or read. It was hard to keep track of who was saying and doing what.… (mehr)