A panoramic novel, compelling, sparing no one – yet with a deep humanity, humour and empathy for the human condition! A hundred years ago a small settlement developed in the Northern Cape. As more residents move in and the first children are born, Vatmaar becomes a town. We are told of Oom Chai, who in turn tells of Ta Vuurmaak, who in turn introduces another character and his story. Thus a chain of stories is created. The characters tell of the Anglo Boer War; the diamond diggers; the tricksters and the tricked; marriages; funerals; life, and death.

"… a masterpiece …" – World Literature Today

• Beskikbaar in Afrikaans as Vatmaar

Translator:

Chris Van Wyk

Publisher:

Kwela Books

ISBN:

9780795701047

Publication date:

January 2000

Length:

216mm

Width:

141mm

Thickness:

21mm

Weight:

435g

Pages:

376

Readership:

General

Original language:

Afrikaans

The poignant tale of a tightly knit Northern Cape community … a book of profound merit.

… a masterpiece … remarkable for its technique of interwoven narratives told from different perspectives and with rich insights and humour.

An authentic wedge (slices are too mean) of South African life … This is a book that lives on the mind, leaving it subtly and ineradicably altered.