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A review by andrewspink
De belofte by Damon Galgut
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book is divided into four parts, each named after the person who dies in that part. Nevertheless, it is not a miserable book. There is plenty of misery recounted, in the family and in society, but for reasons which are difficult to define, the book is positive. Perhaps because it is overwhelmingly the humanity of the characters, with all their flaws, that comes over.
It is written in quite a literary style, I had to look a few words up (in the Dutch translation that I read), and there are some beautifully formulated sentences. However, it is not difficult to read and the omniscient narrator helps out all the time. I started the audiobook because, strangely enough, the library only had that format, no e-book, but it was so badly read that I soon gave up and bought the e-book.
The South-African context is conspicuously present and forms the characters and the plot. "Have you any idea what sort of country you are living in? No, she had no idea", is said to a child near the beginning. By the end of the book, it had become all too clear.
It is written in quite a literary style, I had to look a few words up (in the Dutch translation that I read), and there are some beautifully formulated sentences. However, it is not difficult to read and the omniscient narrator helps out all the time. I started the audiobook because, strangely enough, the library only had that format, no e-book, but it was so badly read that I soon gave up and bought the e-book.
The South-African context is conspicuously present and forms the characters and the plot. "Have you any idea what sort of country you are living in? No, she had no idea", is said to a child near the beginning. By the end of the book, it had become all too clear.