by André Brink
First published 1986
Martin Mynhardt, an Afrikaner author, returns to his childhood farm in the Orange Free State as political upheaval grips South Africa in the 1980s. The visit forces him to examine his family's history and his own complicity in the apartheid system. As he walks through familiar landscapes now changed by drought and social tension, Martin encounters the Black workers who still live on the land his family once owned. Their stories clash with his memories of a privileged white childhood. The conversations reveal buried truths about exploitation, violence, and moral compromise that shaped his upbringing. Martin struggles to reconcile his identity as an Afrikaner with growing awareness of injustice. The impending rains become a metaphor for the political storm approaching South Africa. Through these encounters, Martin must decide whether to cling to old certainties or embrace an uncertain future built on honesty about the past.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-literature, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Orange Free State, South Africa
Period: 1980s
Paperback · LGF -Livre de Poche
Content warnings: racism, violence