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A debut novel on South Africa

by Maxine

Lisa Fugard, daughter of acclaimed South African playwright, Athol Fugard, in her debut novel, Skinner's Drift evokes a vivid sense of place as Eva van Rensburg returns to Johannesburg from the U.S.after a ten year absence. Her father Martin is dying and Eva returns to care for him. Interspersed with the present are excerpts from her mother's diaries and flashbacks to Eva's childhood. Her Africaner parents try to maintain the farm. Barricades are erected on the border with Botswana as uprisings grow more frequent. Her father becomes increasingly violent and Eva finds solace in her friendship with Lefu, one of the farm laborers. It is also the time of unstable politics and the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where perpetrators confessed their crimes. Dark family secrets are revealed that Eva can no longer hide. In addition to the gripping plot, Fugard's descriptions of the African veld and its wildlife are exquisite.

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