A Fork in the Road: A Memoir
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in A Fork in the Road: A Memoir for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
a steadily fascinating read'
--Guardian
"It is almost impossible to read...this impassioned, self-critical, open memoir and not be moved to tears" --Independent on Sunday
--Guardian
"It is almost impossible to read...this impassioned, self-critical, open memoir and not be moved to tears" --Independent on Sunday
Book Description
The memoir of one of South Africa's best-loved novelists.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the autobiography of the South African novelist Andre Brink. The quality of expression is high, as one would expect from an accomplished writer.
One of the strengths is the insight to Andre's sources of inspiration - the people he has met, plays he has seen and books he has read which have influenced his world view and his writing. I think this always helps us understand who a person is and it can also give the reader fresh ground to explore. I am grateful to Andre for introducing me to the poet Ingrid Jonker, with whom he shared love before her early death. This is discussed in the context of the Sestigers (Sixtiers) generation of Afrikaans writers.
Andre is a Francophile and, perhaps because of his name, I had assumed that he was of Huguenot descent; but he is Afrikaans and he elucidates well the tension felt by many Afrikaaners of not wanting to betray their clan while at the same time feeling repugnance at the racism and fascism encapsulated in 'apartheid'. Neither is he afraid to speak out at the injustices and corruption in the post-Mandela Government. He argues that the written word is the one effective weapon that he, as a writer, could use to agitate during the long years of apartheid.
Weaknesses? I found only one trivial error of fact. There is occasional pretentiousness and name dropping which can be irritating, e.g. 'The only disappointment about the visit was that Oliver Tambo could not make it to Thabo's house in time before I had to catch my plane home'. Strangely, there is almost no reference to his contemporary J.M.Coetzee - as Afrikaans authors working in the same University, they must have known each other. (But there are many recollections about Breyten Breytenbach, the other modern giant of South African literature.) In the chapter 'Salzburg: A State of Mind' there is a tedious moan about the administration of the Salzburg opera - this is of no interest to the reader. Throughout the book I was worried about reading the last chapter, 'Postscript: A Letter to Karina' (his young wife), expecting a gushy and embarrassing end, but I need not have been concerned. I did find it difficult to know how many times Andre had been married, when and to whom.
On balance, this is an autobiography of substance in which the author has opened his life to us (with a few, entirely proper, exceptions). It furthers our understanding of literary and political life in South Africa. I would strongly recommend this book if you have an interest in South African literature or the Afrikaaner condition. But the engaging style of writing and the wider references to the arts mean that this book will also be enjoyed by everyone who is interested in literary life, Africa, politics, and love.
One of the strengths is the insight to Andre's sources of inspiration - the people he has met, plays he has seen and books he has read which have influenced his world view and his writing. I think this always helps us understand who a person is and it can also give the reader fresh ground to explore. I am grateful to Andre for introducing me to the poet Ingrid Jonker, with whom he shared love before her early death. This is discussed in the context of the Sestigers (Sixtiers) generation of Afrikaans writers.
Andre is a Francophile and, perhaps because of his name, I had assumed that he was of Huguenot descent; but he is Afrikaans and he elucidates well the tension felt by many Afrikaaners of not wanting to betray their clan while at the same time feeling repugnance at the racism and fascism encapsulated in 'apartheid'. Neither is he afraid to speak out at the injustices and corruption in the post-Mandela Government. He argues that the written word is the one effective weapon that he, as a writer, could use to agitate during the long years of apartheid.
Weaknesses? I found only one trivial error of fact. There is occasional pretentiousness and name dropping which can be irritating, e.g. 'The only disappointment about the visit was that Oliver Tambo could not make it to Thabo's house in time before I had to catch my plane home'. Strangely, there is almost no reference to his contemporary J.M.Coetzee - as Afrikaans authors working in the same University, they must have known each other. (But there are many recollections about Breyten Breytenbach, the other modern giant of South African literature.) In the chapter 'Salzburg: A State of Mind' there is a tedious moan about the administration of the Salzburg opera - this is of no interest to the reader. Throughout the book I was worried about reading the last chapter, 'Postscript: A Letter to Karina' (his young wife), expecting a gushy and embarrassing end, but I need not have been concerned. I did find it difficult to know how many times Andre had been married, when and to whom.
On balance, this is an autobiography of substance in which the author has opened his life to us (with a few, entirely proper, exceptions). It furthers our understanding of literary and political life in South Africa. I would strongly recommend this book if you have an interest in South African literature or the Afrikaaner condition. But the engaging style of writing and the wider references to the arts mean that this book will also be enjoyed by everyone who is interested in literary life, Africa, politics, and love.
Format:Paperback
Having lived in South Africa until 1970 I found the book most interesting .Learnt of happening going on which the "average person" did,nt hear of. Very informative
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
