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A review by slyallm
A Dry White Season by André Brink
1.0
Decrying the evils of apartheid through a mild-mannered white (i.e. Afrikaner/Boer) narrator really misses the point. Even worse, the novel bookends that white POV through another white narrator, like "white savior complex" nesting dolls (TM). Meanwhile, the black characters tend toward shallow and cliched, and in a couple mob scenes, Brink engages in "black peril" sort of dehumanizing hyperbole.
If you are willing to look past all that and judge DWS as a novel, that doesn't really help. Mostly cliched, with extensive dialog that reads like Mad Libs filled in with random quotes from an inspirational calendar.
Well meaning, and perhaps one of those novels that can't be judged outside of the historical context, but god this one has not aged well.
If you are willing to look past all that and judge DWS as a novel, that doesn't really help. Mostly cliched, with extensive dialog that reads like Mad Libs filled in with random quotes from an inspirational calendar.
Well meaning, and perhaps one of those novels that can't be judged outside of the historical context, but god this one has not aged well.