Ten years after leaving South Africa, Eva van Rensburg returns to her dying father, a violent stuttering man whose terrible secret Eva has kept since she was a child, and to Skinner's Drift, the family farm, a tough stretch of land on the Limpopo River where jackals and leopards still roam.
In this beautiful, brave, and extraordinarily moving first novel, Lisa Fugard paints a haunting portrait of a young woman coming to terms with her family's violent past as her homeland, South Africa, confronts its own bloody history. Fugard moves with extraordinary agility between intimate and revelatory domestic scenes and the fiercely challenging land, "like the ravaged hide of some ancient beast." This is a powerful story from a stunning new writer.
About the Author
Lisa Fugard was born in South Africa, the daughter of acclaimed playwright Athol Fugard. She came to the United States in 1980 to pursue her acting career. She has written many articles for The New York Times travel section and this is her first novel. She lives in the desert of Southern California.
Praise For…
"A wonderfully brave book -- unflinchingly and lovingly written." -- Alexandra Fuller, author of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
"Fugard succeeds brilliantly. . . . Worthy of Tolstoy." -- The New York Times Book Review
"A nocturne of guilt and beauty . . . Fugard's frighteningly good novel looks at this historic turmoil without wincing or turning away." -- Los Angeles Times
"Fugard's narrative of apartheid politics and family tragedy could not be more engrossing." -- Entertainment Weekly
