Items related to A Fork in the Road
André Brink grew up in the deep interior of South Africa, as his magistrate father moved from one dusty dorp to the next. With searing honesty he describes his conflicting experiences of growing up in a world where innocence was always surrounded by violence. From an early age he found in storytelling the means of reconciling the stark contrasts - between religion and play-acting, between the breathless discovery of a girl called Maureen and the merciless beating of a black boy, between a meeting with a dwarf who lived in a hole in the ground and an encounter with a magician who threatened to teach him what he hadn't bargained for.
While living in Paris in the sixties his discovery of a wider artistic life, allied to the exhilaration of the student uprising of 1968, confirmed in him the desire to become a writer. At the same time the tragedy of Sharpeville crystallised his growing political awareness and sparked the decision to return home and oppose the apartheid establishment with all his strength. This resulted in years of harassment by the South African secret police, in censorship, and in fractured relationships with many people close to him. Equally it led to extraordinary friendships sealed by meetings with leaders of the ANC in exile in both Africa and Europe.
André Brink tells the story of a life lived in tumultuous times. His long love affair with music, art, the theatre, literature and sport illuminate this memoir as do relationships with remarkable women, among them the poet Ingrid Jonker, who have shared and shaped his life, and encounters with people like Ariel Dorfman, Anna Netrebko, Nadine Gordimer, Günter Grass, Beyers Naudé, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Above all, A Fork in the Road is a love song to the country where he was born, and where, despite its recent troubles and tragedies, he still lives.
While living in Paris in the sixties his discovery of a wider artistic life, allied to the exhilaration of the student uprising of 1968, confirmed in him the desire to become a writer. At the same time the tragedy of Sharpeville crystallised his growing political awareness and sparked the decision to return home and oppose the apartheid establishment with all his strength. This resulted in years of harassment by the South African secret police, in censorship, and in fractured relationships with many people close to him. Equally it led to extraordinary friendships sealed by meetings with leaders of the ANC in exile in both Africa and Europe.
André Brink tells the story of a life lived in tumultuous times. His long love affair with music, art, the theatre, literature and sport illuminate this memoir as do relationships with remarkable women, among them the poet Ingrid Jonker, who have shared and shaped his life, and encounters with people like Ariel Dorfman, Anna Netrebko, Nadine Gordimer, Günter Grass, Beyers Naudé, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Above all, A Fork in the Road is a love song to the country where he was born, and where, despite its recent troubles and tragedies, he still lives.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Unusual book
Review:
`his memoir does not shy away from awkward questions: there's an explicit sense of him bearing witness to his own experience.' -- Metro
"...Brink's [...] at his considerable best... so much vividness and such a moving nostalgia." -- Literary Review, March 2009
'critical eye pick'.
-- The Guardian
`To read this autobiography by is to be sharply reminded of just how much taken for granted' -- Standpoint
`To read this autobiography is to be sharply reminded of just how much taken for granted'
-- Standpoint
`an extraordinary book because it combines, uniquely, angry forensic polemic with writing of the highest order'
-- The Irish Times
`fascinating... of enormous interest to anyone who understands the important role of South African writers in the past 60 years'. -- The Independent on Sunday
"...Brink's [...] at his considerable best... so much vividness and such a moving nostalgia." -- Literary Review, March 2009
'critical eye pick'.
-- The Guardian
`To read this autobiography by is to be sharply reminded of just how much taken for granted' -- Standpoint
`To read this autobiography is to be sharply reminded of just how much taken for granted'
-- Standpoint
`an extraordinary book because it combines, uniquely, angry forensic polemic with writing of the highest order'
-- The Irish Times
`fascinating... of enormous interest to anyone who understands the important role of South African writers in the past 60 years'. -- The Independent on Sunday
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHarvill Secker
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 1846552451
- ISBN 13 9781846552458
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages448
- Rating
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A Fork in the Road / A Memoir
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HARVILL PRESS
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1846552451
ISBN 13: 9781846552458
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Book Description Condition: , 352pp, , goed exemplaar. 2009, 352pp, paperback, goed exemplaar. Seller Inventory # 195284554
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A Fork in the Road. A Memoir
Published by
Harvill Secker, London
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1846552451
ISBN 13: 9781846552458
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Book Description Hard Cover. Condition: F. Dust Jacket Condition: F. First Edition. F/F. 8vo. original green boards gilt in dustwrapper; pp. [x (last blank)], 438, with illustrations. A fine copy. Seller Inventory # 015933
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