Tento jihoafrický prozaik, píšící po afrikánsky i anglicky, byl klíčovou postavou literárního hnutí Die Sestigers, které usilovalo o využití afrikánštiny k odporu proti apartheidu a zároveň o integraci soudobých anglických a francouzských vlivů. Jeho raná díla se často zabývala politikou apartheidu, zatímco pozdější práce reflektovaly nové výzvy postapartheidové Jihoafrické republiky. Brink se vyznačoval odvahou zkoumat kontroverzní témata a jeho romány patří k prvním afrikánským knihám, které čelily vládní cenzuře.
V centru vyprávění stojí skutečná událost z roku 1825 – nezdařená a bílými kolonisty krutě potlačená vzpoura hrstky otroků na farmách van der Merweů v Kapsku. Autor postupně předává slovo jednotlivým aktérům, do jejichž „hlasů“ se promítají tehdejší společenské poměry, úmysly a tužby.
Román z Jihoafrické republiky je příběhem bílého učitele, který ztratí víru ve společenský pořádek své země, když pátrá po událostech kolem smrti dvou černochů, obětí násilí policie.
Based on the lives of Elisabeth Larsson and Adam Mantoor
In this magical novel that re-imagines stories from nine generations of South African women, ”histories, half-truths, myths, and fables weave themselves around an exile’s return to a nation on the brink of political transformation” (Boston Sunday Globe).
Two men, both with South African roots, but with opposing political allegiances, take a conscious decision to use violence for their political ends. An act of terror triggers a remorseless pursuit that spans magnificent landscapes and squalid townships and leads into the violent past of Africa.
The novel has become a landmark in South African literature about the seventies period of unrest and death in detention. The main character is an ordinary man who tries to get at the truth behind the death of a black man. He is not motivated by political issues but by a sense of moral outrage. When he realises his life might be in danger, he entrusts all the documents of his investigation to an old friend.
Winter in South Africa - a time of searing drought, angry stirrings in Soweto, and the shadow of the Angolan conflict cast across the scorched bush. Martin Mynhardt, a wealthy Afrikaner, plans a weekend at his old family farm. But his visit coincides with a time of crisis in his personal life. In a few days, the security of a lifetime is destroyed and, with only the uncertain values of his past to guide him, Mynhardt is left to face the wreckage of his future.
First edition ex-library hardcover with jacket in protective film covering. Upper leading corners and spine ends are slightly worn on jacket and hardcover. Stained and grubby page block, particularly severe on foot, but only visible on BEP and lower edge of FEP, which also has a stamp. No other signs of library markings; pages are clean and sound and text remains clear throughout. TS
A reporter in South Africa discovers a lost valley whose inhabitants continue to practice apartheid. They are the descendants of an 1880s fundamentalist Christian sect and they have managed to maintain their isolation by murdering visitors. A satire on Afrikaner culture by the author of A Dry White Season.
"On the surface "On the Contrary is a picaresque historical novel, in which 18th century adventurer Estienne Barbier graduates from seducing French wives to South African widows via a long and bruising association with the Dutch East India Company. Underneath [it] is about today's South Africa and the dilemmas facing people challenging the status quo." - "Sunday Telegraph
