The Promise

"Apartheid has fallen, see, we die right next to each other now, in intimate proximity. It's just the living part we still have to work out." In a farm outside Pretoria, a promise is made to a dying woman. It is a promise that, over three decades, is never fulfilled. This skilfully written book is told from multiple POVs and seamlessly flits between the first and the third person. No quotation marks are used for direct speech and the whole novel almost feels like an extended stream of consciousness. It's portrayal of a family that is rapidly disintegrating is flawlessly executed. But, for all it's eloquence, it left me strangely unmoved. I can't quite pin down my dissatisfaction, but it has a lot to do with the lack of a plot. I also felt that keeping Salome, the recipient of the promise, so much in the background made her feel like an insubstantial being instead of a real person. The author probably did this with the intention of emphasising how apartheid affected black South Africans but it held me at arm's length. I also got the feeling that although the story progresses rapidly, sometimes a whole decade at a time, it felt like it was going round in circles. The lack of a single likeable character also contributed to my overall lack of engagement with this book. "No love left, only kindness."

Damon Galgut's 2021 Booker Prize-winning novel The Promise is a family saga set in South Africa during and after apartheid. The story centers on a promise made by Manie Swart to his dying Jewish wife, Rachel, to give their Black maid, Salome, the deeds to her home. The narrative follows the Swart siblings, Anton, Astrid, and Amor, over four decades as they navigate family tensions, personal growth, and the changing landscape of their country.

well deserved win of the Booker prize from this author, style of Coetzee , suspenseful and compelling.