Synopsis
From a world-class writer – a remarkable new novel about love in all its forms.
Chris Minaar is a distinguished South African writer; an old writer, a writer who has lost whatever gift he had for writing. It is on New Year’s Eve, courtesy of his stalled car, that he meets Rachel, a young sculptress, who becomes the great love of his life, a love greater for being unfulfilled.
Having believed that his remaining function should be to comfort his mother, more than a century old now, he finds himself captivated by Rachel and drawn into a close friendship with her photographer husband George, a friendship that inevitably threatens this precarious triangular relationship.
Woven through this is the story of his life and of a lifetime of loving many women including brief affairs, extended affairs, a marriage; intensely carnal encounters and tender attachments. From Daphne, the troubled dancer, to Bonnie, his authoritarian father’s secretary, and Grethe, who arranges for her many lovers to meet at a party in her absence, these women define and inform his life.
As it becomes clear that this book is the final writing act of Chris’s creative life, so we understand that the recollection of these many loves is an attempt to bring order to an otherwise chaotic existence. Erotic, searingly honest, elegiac and profoundly moving, Before I Forget is the history of a life set against the history of a nation, and the history of a transforming love.
From the Hardcover edition.
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About the Author
André Brink is the author of fifteen novels in English, including A Dry White Season, Imaginings of Sand, The Rights of Desire and The Other Side of Silence. He has won South Africa's most important literay prize, the CNA Award, three times and has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His novels have been translated into thirty languages. André Brink is Professor of English at the University of Cape Town.
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Before I forget
Seller: Book Haven, Wellington, WLG, New Zealand
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. An unforgettable story of a man's reflection on the a spent loving and the last great love of his life. Chris Minaar is a distinguished South African writer who has lost his gift for the word. That is, until, he meets Rachel, a woman destined to become the great love of his life, a love greater for being unfulfilled. 311 pages. Seller Inventory # 1415762
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Before I Forget
Published by
Secker & Warburg, 2004
ISBN 10: 043620553X
ISBN 13: 9780436205538
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Soft cover
First Edition
Seller: Chapter 1, Johannesburg, GAU, South Africa
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Soft cover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. The wraps are shelf rubbed.Previous ownership inscription.Scarring.Tightly bound.[R.K]. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services. Seller Inventory # rb7
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Before I Forget
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paperback. Condition: Good. Our good condition books are generally good for reading but not for gifting or collecting. They could have imperfections such as creasing, fanning, inscriptions, margin notes, yellowing, staining on edge or cover or pages, bumps, scuffs, etc etc (sometimes multiple of these). It's a wide category that encompasses anything that isn't almost-new down to anything that is slightly better than poor. We would NOT recommend gifting Good books - these should be considered reading copies. Our books are dispatched from a Yorkshire former cotton mill. We list via barcode/ISBN so please note that the images are stock images and may not be the exact copy you receive, furthermore the details about edition and year might not be accurate as many publishers reuse the same ISBN for multiple editions and as we simply scan a barcode or enter an ISBN we do not check the validity of the edition data when listing. If you're looking for an exact edition please don't order (at least not without checking with us first, although we don't always have time to check). We aim to dispatch prompty, the service used will depend on order value and book size. We can ship to most countries, see our shipping policies. Payment is via Abe only. Seller Inventory # L-BBR00961-RAG-20250514-G
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Before I Forget (Signed by author)
Published by
SECKER & WARBURG, 2004
ISBN 10: 043620553X
ISBN 13: 9780436205538
Used
Softcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Chapter 1, Johannesburg, GAU, South Africa
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Softcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Signed by author. 1st edition. Pre-publication copy. Wraps are a bit edge worn and marked. Minor marks on page edges. It is in very good condition, excellent binding and internally clean. MK. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services. Signed. Seller Inventory # 4wd
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Before I Forget Brink, Andre
Seller: Hubert Colau, LA BAZOCHE GOUET, France
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: 1. BROCHE. Seller Inventory # Z30846