Before I Forget - Hardcover

Brink, Andre

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402208669 ISBN 13: 9781402208669

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2007

Synopsis

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.

Before I Forget is the final act of Chris's creative life; it is the coming together of all the chaotic pieces of his existence. It is much more than the story of how he met Rachel; it is the story of his life and his lifetime of loves. There are brief affairs, extended affairs, even a marriage and in all of them we find Chris retelling his joys and pains in such a way that they move us to tears and beyond.

Erotic, searingly honest, and a profoundly moving novel, this is the history of a life set against the history of a nation and, more than anything, a tribute to lost lovers and our very ability to love at all.

About this title

About the Author

Thrice nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature and twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, ANDRÉ BRINK is one of South Africa's eminent novelists. He is the author of over 20 works of fiction, many of them written during the years when apartheid dominated the culture of his country. His first openly political novel, Kennis van die Aand became a cause célèbre. It was banned a year after its publication under new censorship laws applied for the first time to an Afrikaans writer. Brink later translated the work into English as Looking on Darkness. A prolific literary critic and dramatist, Brink has worked for over 40 years as an academic and as a translator of works as varied as Mary Poppins and Shakespeare's plays into Afrikaans. André Brink is an outspoken recorder of South Africa's turbulent history from the days of apartheid to the present.

From the Back Cover

Chris Minnaar is a distinguished South African writer who has lost his gift for the wordóthat is, until he experiences the last great love of his life. He first encounters Rachel, a sculptress, on New Yearís Eve. Rachel becomes the great love of his life, a love greater for being unfulfilled.

When he loses her, Chris is ready to perform his final creative act: an assembly of the beautiful and ugly pieces of his existence, defined by the women he has loved. There have been numerous erotic affairs, tender relationships and a tragically ended marriage, all of which have left their indelible marks. Among them are Bonnie, his fatherís secretary; Grethe, who arranges for her many lovers to meet at a party in her absence; and Chrisís own mother, whose memory has faded in old age. Chris loves each woman uniquely, and his reflections convey a deep appreciation for their individual beauty and spirit.

Erotic, candid and elegiac, Before I Forget is the history of a manís life set against the turbulent history of his nation. More than anything, however, it is a rich tribute to the power of love.

Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and twice short-listed for Englandís prestigious Booker Prize, AndrÈ Brink is one of South Africaís most distinguished novelists. He is the author of seventeen works of fiction and an outspoken recorder of South Africaís turbulent history from the days of apartheid to the present. He wrote the first Afrikaans book to be banned for political content. In 1992, Brink was awarded the Monismanien Human Rights Award for making known the injustice of apartheid to the wider world. He has also worked for over forty years as an academic and translator of works as varied as Mary Poppins and Shakespeare into Afrikaans.

When he loses her, Chris is ready to perform his final creative act: an assembly of the beautiful and ugly pieces of his existence, defined by the women he has loved. There have been numerous erotic affairs, tender relationships and a tragically ended marriage, all of which have left their indelible marks. Among them are Bonnie, his fatherís secretary; Grethe, who arranges for her many lovers to meet at a party in her absence; and Chrisís own mother, whose memory has faded in old age. Chris loves each woman uniquely, and his reflections convey a deep appreciation for their individual beauty and spirit.

Erotic, candid and elegiac, Before I Forget is the history of a manís life set against the turbulent history of his nation. More than anything, however, it is a rich tribute to the power of love.

Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and twice short-listed for Englandís prestigious Booker Prize, AndrÈ Brink is one of South Africaís most distinguished novelists. He is the author of seventeen works of fiction and an outspoken recorder of South Africaís turbulent history from the days of apartheid to the present. He wrote the first Afrikaans book to be banned for political content. In 1992, Brink was awarded the Monismanien Human Rights Award for making known the injustice of apartheid to the wider world. He has also worked for over forty years as an academic and translator of works as varied as Mary Poppins and Shakespeare into Afrikaans.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402208669
• ISBN 13: 9781402208669
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368