The Promise by Damon Galgut
In The Promise, a white South African family that resided on a farm outside of Pretoria is shown going from strength to strength. For Ma’s funeral, the Swart family is assembling. The younger generation, Anton and Amor, abhor all the family stands for, especially the broken promise to the Black woman who has spent her entire life working for them. Salome was promised her own home and property in exchange for her years of work, but despite the passage of ten years, this promise has not yet been realized.
The narrator’s eye changes and blinks as it moves effortlessly between characters and flies into their dreams. This observation is deliciously lethal. The novel’s unfulfilled promise of more than just one family looms in the background as the nation transitions from its previous, deep divisions to its new, purportedly better society. The title of the book alludes to the promise that was lost by more than just one family as the nation transitions from its previous, severe divisions to its new, ostensibly better society.
The Promise by Damon Galgut
17 used from $6.99
Free shipping
Amazon.com
In this story of a broken family, poignant and incisive emotional truths are brought to light. Literary fiction at its best, The Promise is confident, deft, and quietly powerful. It tells the tale of a white South African family during the apartheid era and after. We learn about the struggles faced by black people and the reprehensible prejudice they endured for such a long time, as in any country where racism is still a problem.
Amor, the youngest daughter, gets picked up from school at the beginning of the narrative because her mother is passing away. It was something she anticipated would occur because she overheard her mother telling her husband what she wanted in her final moments and asking him to guarantee that her wishes would be carried out. Obviously, this did not occur, and Amor’s opinion of her family was forever altered. Typically, only funerals bring the family together, and tensions are rising. I got the impression that the author was beginning to weave a web out of the experiences that this family had, and without realizing it, I found myself in the middle of all their suffering, indifference, despair, and lack of motivation. It is not a happy tale, but how many don’t live like this?
