- Paperback: 316 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (30 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0061138630
- ISBN-13: 978-0061138638
- Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.6 x 1.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,393,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Ben du Toit is an ordinary, decent, harmless man, unremarkable in every way - until his sense of justice is outraged by the death of a man he has known. His friend died at the hands of the police. In the beginning it appears a straightforward matter, an unfortunate error that can be explained and put right. But as Ben investigates further he finds that his curiosity becomes labelled rebellion - and for a rebel there is no way back.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
André Brink was born in South Africa in 1935. He is the author of the eleven novels in English, including A Dry White Season, A Chain of Voices, An Act of Terror, The First Life of Adamstor and On the Contrary. He has three times won South Africa's most important literary prize, the CAN Award, and has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His novels have been translated into twenty-nine languages. In 1980 he received the Martin Luther King Prize, and in France the Prix Médicis Étranger. In 1982 he was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur and in 1987 was named Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. André Brink is Professor of English at the University of Cape Town. He has three sons and a daughter.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ben Du Toit teaches history and geography in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the period of the height of the youth riots in the township of Soweto. At Ben's school, Gordon Ngubene, a native, is a cleaner and he occasionally does little chores for Ben. When Ben sees that Jonathan, Gordon's son, is showing signs of intelligence and diligence, he decides to partly finance his education. One day however, Jonathan takes part in a demonstration which ends up in a violent riot and is arrested by the police. A few weeks later, after a harrowing quest through countless offices, Ben and Gordon are informed that Jonathan died "of natural causes" while in detention.
Due to the mystery surrounding his son's death, Gordon gives up his job in order to devote himself entirely to the enquiries which have become an obsession with him. Both the Special Branch and the Security Police are annoyed about Gordon's insistence and soon enough Gordon is arrested. After numerous attempts to try to trace Gordon and speak to him, Ben and Gordon's wife Emily are told by the spokesman of the Security Police that Gordon apparently committed suicide by hanging himself with strips torn from his blanket.
But Ben Du Toit senses that the official explanations for both Jonathan's and Gordon's deaths are just a pretext for poorly disguised murders and so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts investigating.
Mr Brink's novel is a harrowing account of a solitary man's fight against all the atrocities of the Apartheid. During this dark period in the history of South Africa, a white man had to be a real hero to fight for the right of the Afrikaners. The author beautifully captures the fact that Ben has to fight not only the resentment of the people of the other race, but also that of the people belonging to his own race - his family for a start. The descriptions of the townships of Johannesburg, particularly that of Soweto, are breathtaking in their accuracy and poignancy.
Due to the mystery surrounding his son's death, Gordon gives up his job in order to devote himself entirely to the enquiries which have become an obsession with him. Both the Special Branch and the Security Police are annoyed about Gordon's insistence and soon enough Gordon is arrested. After numerous attempts to try to trace Gordon and speak to him, Ben and Gordon's wife Emily are told by the spokesman of the Security Police that Gordon apparently committed suicide by hanging himself with strips torn from his blanket.
But Ben Du Toit senses that the official explanations for both Jonathan's and Gordon's deaths are just a pretext for poorly disguised murders and so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts investigating.
Mr Brink's novel is a harrowing account of a solitary man's fight against all the atrocities of the Apartheid. During this dark period in the history of South Africa, a white man had to be a real hero to fight for the right of the Afrikaners. The author beautifully captures the fact that Ben has to fight not only the resentment of the people of the other race, but also that of the people belonging to his own race - his family for a start. The descriptions of the townships of Johannesburg, particularly that of Soweto, are breathtaking in their accuracy and poignancy.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Every so often you discover a writer who is so good you feel you have to read all his work. Brink is such a writer. His ability to disseminate the inherent prejudices and corruptions of South African politics is wondrous. I cannot rate this novel highly enough
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Set in South Africa in the late 1970s, I wasn't really sure what to make of this book at first. I didn't find it easy to get into and it felt dated - so much has changed since then. Also, as the theme is most definitely political, I wasn't quite sure if the book itself was going to be more of a political statement than an exploration of emotions and feelings in an unfamiliar situation. Thankfully, it is more of the latter than the former.
The overt theme is the injustice of apartheid in South Africa and the impunity with which the the ruling whites could kill members of the black population. When it touches his life, Ben du Toit will not turn a blind eye. In doing so, he doesn't just anger the Security Police, he also exposes the weaknesses and prejudices of his friends, family and work colleagues and it is this less obvious theme that became the most compelling for me. If, in standing up for a moral issue that you cannot ignore, you also threaten the perceived security of those around you, it won't be long before they turn against you. That's how difficult it is to stand up and be counted. Ben du Toit, stood up and lost everything except his conscience.
Having finished this book last night I can now say that I'm very glad that I did read it. It's a book that explores the bigger themes that face us as human beings and I'm left with a feeling of having been taught something by someone whose work I would have liked to have been introduced to as a teenager. Better late than never.
The overt theme is the injustice of apartheid in South Africa and the impunity with which the the ruling whites could kill members of the black population. When it touches his life, Ben du Toit will not turn a blind eye. In doing so, he doesn't just anger the Security Police, he also exposes the weaknesses and prejudices of his friends, family and work colleagues and it is this less obvious theme that became the most compelling for me. If, in standing up for a moral issue that you cannot ignore, you also threaten the perceived security of those around you, it won't be long before they turn against you. That's how difficult it is to stand up and be counted. Ben du Toit, stood up and lost everything except his conscience.
Having finished this book last night I can now say that I'm very glad that I did read it. It's a book that explores the bigger themes that face us as human beings and I'm left with a feeling of having been taught something by someone whose work I would have liked to have been introduced to as a teenager. Better late than never.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Anti-apartheid tale
A somewhat muddled but powerful novel about the atrocities perpetrated by the supporters of apartheid. Read more
Published 23 months ago by P. Rowley-brooke
The horrors of Apartheid
I first read this novel many years ago, and was completely blown away by it. I have just re-read it, and while I still think it's a great novel with a lot to say, it didn't affect... Read more
Published 23 months ago by F. M. M. Stott
a very good book on South Africa
I started to read this book just for curiosity because I was intrigued by an Afrikaner writing against the Apartheid regime when this system was still in place. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by Enrico Cancellotti
Slow start, awesome end
I found this novel hard to get into and slow to get going. What I didn't realise at the time is that this accumulation of pace exactly echoes what happens to the protagonist, Ben... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2009 by daisyrock
amazing and powerful book
This book was recommended to me by a south African friend and I read it in two sittings, unable to put the book down until I knew how the plot could possibly resolve. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2009 by Charlotte Wilson
Brave and Moving writing
In Ben Du Toit, Andre Brink has created a character through which he can explore the revolt of the reasonable man when he is faced with the evidence of dishonesty and oppression. Read more
Published on 17 July 2008 by DDH255
Chilling, thought-provoking and heart-breaking novel
The protagonist of A Dry White Season is an Everyman character who allows us an entry into the world of South-Africa. Read more
Published on 14 July 2003 by Emilie Pine
Definitely buy this book!
I could not put this book down for a moment. If you're interested in South Africa in the 80s, this is a must-read. Andre Brink is really a fantastic writer.
Published on 23 July 1999
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