The story of a family, as each dies, commitments made, disappointments etc. Didn't really grab me. ( )

Pleased that this family story of apartheid and beyond in South Africa won the Booker Prize this year. Absorbing tale with a surprising thread of humor running through it. ( )

The book is set in South Africa and begins in 1986 just as the drive to eliminate apartheid begins. It is the story of the Afrikaner Swart family and their farm located outside Pretoria over 4 decades and 4 deaths. Amor is 13 and the youngest of three children when her mother, Rachael Swart, dies of a long illness. She overhears a promise that her mother extracted from her father shortly before her mother dies: the house in which their long-time Black servant, Salome, lives should be deeded to her. Her mother and father, Manie, have had a 20-year stressful marriage. Rachael, née Cohn, was originally Jewish but gave up that religion when she married. At the end of her life, she decides to return to her Jewish heritage and be buried in the Jewish cemetery instead of in her husband's family plot. This causes much concern and angst among the family members on both sides. Amor has two older siblings, Astrid and Anton, 19, and away in the military at the time of his mother's death. He is given 7 days leave to return home but decides to desert instead. The book is divided into four chapters, one for each death, Ma, Pa, Astrid, and Anton. For each death, the situation and people are described, with Amor asking each time if the promise of the house for Salome will now be honored. Amor leaves home to travel and eventually become a nurse and is in contact with only her sister or brother, but returns for each of the deaths. Not my favorite story or read. It was hard to keep track of who was saying and doing what. ( )

A book arranged around 4 deaths and what this means for a promise made long ago. Its really well written and tightly plotted, and I thought resolved well. It's about a family, but also about South Africas progress over a few decades. ( )

This novel took my breath away in so many ways. The promise in the title is presumably the promise of house to Salome, made by the mother on her deathbed. Salome had worked for the family for years and continued to do so as the decades pass and the promise is not fulfilled. But it is also the promise of South Africa, as it shakes off aparteid and has so much promise as a democratic country. In the final chapters we see corruption, crime and power and water outages from its crumbling infrastructure. It is also the promise of the characters. Anton had so many plans and struggles to get beyond drinking. Lukas, Salome's son also had promise that isn't fulfilled. Different female characters become beautiful to the whispering narrator eyes at different times and this suggests promise that then disappears in weight gain and tiredness from working and caring. The family business, a snake and reptile park, and the land, is also full of promise and this shrivels away. There is plenty of sadness in the novel but it doesn't feel a bleak novel and I didn't weep over any of the characters. At the end I was left with a sense of joy and moving on. ( )

Here is novel that is heartbreaking without being depressing. The writing weaves the characters’ lives together, tangles and untangles. As a reader, you cannot really tell how this was done, can’t see the seams. I like that in a book. I liked Damon Galgut’s omniscient narrator, who also influences the book’s reality when the occasion calls for it. The narrator is detached, sarcastic, and merciless (understandably) towards the characters, yet never misanthropic. ( )

Interesting family story, set sporadically across a few historic decades in South Africa, starting at the tail end of the apartheid era.


SPOILERS
My main gripe is that the main character is soooo passive. Every other character is more interesting, and her total inactivity over 30 years to have the promise fulfilled totally undermines her sanctimony toward her family. Could have knocked down to 3 for that annoyance, but, well, it's closer to 4*.
( )

What an extraordinary novel. Using the story of a disfunctional Africaner family, Galgut traces the history of South Africa from apartheid to full democracy. The story opens with the death of Rachel, mother of three, and a promise she has extracted from her husband that her youngest, Amor, age 13, is witness to. Each decade, this promise is raised at the funeral of one of the family, coincident with major events in the country itself. At the end, we are left to realize that time has destroyed the value of the promise, the family, and in some ways, the dream of South Africa. Each member of the family is in a way contaminated by the promise, apartheid and the subsequent changes.

Galgut uses what we might call an omniscient narrator, but the voice is very close to us, practically whispering the stories in our ears. Each family member's history, character and trauma is revealed through an ironic South African Afrikaner lens. The writing is wonderful, lush, pointed - it brings you in close to this story and situation.
This novel certainly deserves its Booker award. ( )

Galgut’s 2221 Booker prize winning masterpiece, “The Promise” is truly a masterpiece. I’ve been a fan of Gulgut for many years but t his latest took my breath away. The mastery of his words expose the harsh reality of post-apartheid South Africa in a strangely lyrical novel about three generations of an Afrikaner family.  ( )

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/promise-damon-galgut ( )

Damon Galgut’s The Promise is a deeply contemplative novel centered around the dysfunctional Swart family and their home situated on the outskirts of Pretoria.

Amor, 13 years old, the youngest child of the Swart family overhears her dying mother Rachel extract a promise from her father Manie to grant legal ownership of the Lombard House a ‘broken’ house on the edge of their farmland to Salome , their domestic help who has been serving the family for decades .

"Salome, of course, who has been here on the farm for ever, or that’s how it feels. My grandfather always talked about her like that, Oh, Salome, I got her along with the land."

Manie , however, has no intention of making good on his promise.

The siblings Anton, Astrid and Amor are not particularly close and their mother’s death is the beginning of them drifting further apart .The fate of the Swart family and siblings’ stories are narrated in segments each timed almost a decade apart corresponding to the death of a family member. Funerals are the only converging event that brings the siblings back together in their family home only to part again till the next tragedy comes calling.

Amor is racked with guilt over the broken promise and she tries to persuade her father and then her brother, Anton ,after her father’s death, to fulfill her mother’s dying wishes but to no avail. Anton’s excuse is that prohibitive apartheid laws would prevent Salome and her family from lawful ownership, thereby attempting to justify their stance to not honor the promise. However, the changing political landscape and eventual abolition of apartheid does not result in any change in attitude on the part of Anton , Astrid or their relatives. Amor’s guilt remains a common theme throughout her life and this story. Every trip back seems to compound her complicated feelings towards her family home and its inhabitants.

"Who belongs here now? The answer is no longer clear. Among the various people who’ve stayed over, there’s now a general sense of restiveness, an itchy need to move on. A spirit of agitation flickers in the corners of the house. All the rituals are completed, why are we still here?"

The author gives a more than subtle indication of racial inequality in the post apartheid social construct .While on one hand people unite to cheer for their country’s integrated rugby team , Salome’s status in the family remains unchanged.

"An expression of disappointment has started to harden on Salome’s face, like the calluses that thicken the soles of her feet. She still wears no shoes. In this house, she never will wear shoes."

With a brutally honest (occasionally satirical) narrative and fluid prose the author touches upon themes of spirituality and religion, segregation and social and racial inequality ,death and the far reaching affects of guilt and grief. This brilliantly crafted family saga is my first experience of reading Damon Galgut’s work and while it took me a while to adjust to the slow pace and distinctive writing style I am glad I didn’t give up. I hope to read more of his work in the future. ( )

3.5/5

This book was everything and nothing simultaneously and it took me a while to come to terms with my stand on whether I liked it or not.

The Promise by Damon Galgut is the THIRD entry by the author into the booker prize longlist. Having made the shortlist with both his previous entries, it became evident to me as to why he achieved that, inspite of this being my first book by him.

The prose is brilliant. The story revolves around fulfilling a promise made to a dying wife that is taken seriously only by her youngest daughter, Amor. She carries the thought with her through decades. The family shrinks from 5 to 1 but the daughter doesn't forget the promise.

The narrative also includes the then political standings in South Africa, Racism and the dysfunctional relationships of the siblings, with each other and their father.

The book is divided into 4 chapters over 4 decades and named after one family member who eventually meet their demise. The narration is in third person and it gives us a wholesome view into the happenings of the story and it is definitely a one of a kind experience reading it.

Did I like the book? Well, initially I was just confused probably because this was a new style of writing but it eventually grew on me. The way the relationships were portrayed were not relatable (because I have amazing siblings and family ( )

Technically a masterpiece, but too clinical for my taste. The omniscient narration was incredibly impressive, but the story itself was unexciting, and I couldn't relate to or care about any of the characters.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 14/20 ( )

סוף סוף ספר ספר. סיפורה של משפחה אפריקנרית בדרום אפריקה במהלך חמישים השנים האחרונות דרך סיפורם של שלושה אחים אמור, אסטריד ואנטון, הוריים ומשפחתם, אמונתם ומריבותיהם, מותם וקבורתם וכל זה סיפור של דרום אפריקה בשנים הסוערות האלה. עם הרבה דברים שצריכים לעניין אותנו כישראלי. כתיבה מרתקת, לא קלה, ומקורית בה נקודת המבט נעה מדי פעם. זוכה פרס הבוקר ל 2021 ( )

Really, 2.5 stars. Did not care for the writing style and the story was depressing. ( )

“There is nothing unusual or remarkable about the Swart family, oh no, they resemble the family from the next farm and the one beyond that, just an ordinary bunch of white South Africans, and if you don’t believe it then listen to us speak. We sound no different from the other voices, we sound the same and we tell the same stories, in an accent squashed underfoot, all the consonants decapitated and the vowels stove in. Something rusted and rain-stained and dented in the soul, and it comes through in the voice.”

Story of a white South African family living on a farm near Pretoria. The family consists of parents Manie and Rachel, son Anton, and daughters Astrid and Amor. It opens with Rachel near death. Amor hears her mother promise Salome, the family’s domestic employee, that she will be given title to the small property on the edge of the farm. This promise is ignored, deferred, and bickered over among the siblings for the next three decades.

Parts of this book work well for me. I like the first half very much. I think the setup of a promise unfulfilled is a fitting symbol for post-Apartheid-related history. Each of four section is centered around a specific family member and is effective in portraying the decade in which it is set (from 1986 to 2018). The writing is strong. The author has a way with word that makes it easy to picture the scenes:

“There’s a hot wind gusting now, and black clouds rolling in from the east. Thunder gargling away in the back throat of the sky. Time to get moving, and to use haste to cover what would otherwise crack the heart. Both women know they won’t see each other again. But why does it matter? They’re close, but not close. Joined but not joined. One of the strange, simple fusions that hold this country together. Sometimes only barely.”

I am not as fond of other elements. The characters are thinly drawn – they feel more like archetypes than real people. This creates distance and makes it harder to remain fully engaged. The narrative voice is all over the place, changing a number of times, even within the same sentence, which I find distracting. I am disappointed that the black characters are given little voice, though it seems this is intentional. Salome is the reason for the promise in the first place, but we learn little about her. I found it worth reading but, for me, it falls short of its potential.
( )

Galgut give glimpses of a South African family and the political climate each time a member dies. When they they gather for the funeral we are privy to their ever changing range of dysfunction. Galgut's wry observations of human nature save the novel from being too bleak. ( )

Book club read. Very well written story set in South Africa from 1980s (with apartheid) through to present day. Each chapter focuses on the death of a family member over the years, in doing so it paints a picture of changes in the country, but also of things which don’t change.
Great writing. Be@utifully observed tableaux. Clashes of religion, colour, character.
I would like to read more of his books. ( )

I really like the way Damon Galgut writes, and this novel was another excellent read for me. In the dying days of apartheid, Amor overhears her father (Manie) promise his dying wife that he will give the family maid the house she's been living in for decades. As the family drifts apart over time, Amor, the youngest sibling, is the only one who feels it essential to fulfill this promise. As the family drifts apart, the apartheid regime disintegrates, providing a rich context for the story, with promises both personal and national. Very well done, with strong characters. Each chapters focuses on one (mother, father, sister, brother) with Amor as the overarching thread. So sad, and touching and real. ( )

Potentially good but I really did not get any of the characters - not even Amor who is just limp. And the style could be irritating with throwaway lines and odd plotting, jumpy as if unworked ideas. And Desiree just pops in. Needed much more work before putting out there. Does not fulfil its promise........ ( )

The Promise is ultimately a very sad tale about a family, whose relationships are all fractured in a country itself fractured by apartheid, racial tension, wealthy and poor and religion. Amor, the youngest of three siblings, the only one who is determined to try and honour the promise she overheard her father make to his dying wife is the most likeable character in the story. Set over 40 years the novel is well written, easy to read, and definitely worthy of its literary prize. ( )

Galgut's writing flows seamlessly between characters, so seamlessly, though, that it is sometimes hard to tell who is the current focus. ( )

Holy bologna this man can write like a dream. This book is in the pantheon of great prose. I am so glad I read this so soon after reading Faulkner, because Faulkner is all over this prose. Each line is perfect, but like Faulkner Galgut does not get lost in crafting perfect sentences and forget the point. The Promise is also a great story, a brilliant slice of life, beyond the writing. A great story, and a fantastically depressing story. This book also has some truly funny moments but for most of them I was so depressed I could only emit a labored huff of amusement in acknowledgment.

Others have summarized the story so I will be brief in that regard, The book begins with a tween girl losing her mother. She believes she hears her father promise to give a house on the property to the housekeeper. That girl makes it her life's mission, against all odds, to see that the housekeeper gets that house.

The story is set in Pretoria in the early days of post-apartheid South Africa, and the white people are clinging to what they have very tightly, even if what they have is a crappy scrap of land and the crappy buildings upon it. Every scene highlights the unrealized promises of the end of apartheid -- nothing really changes except the embargos go away. It was meaningful reading this as I was prepping to lead a Juneteenth seminar - so much hope and promise and so little positive change came from the end of both slavery and apartheid. In America we were still fighting for basic equality 100 years later, and here we are another half century in and though there has been improvement in that time we have so much farther to go. And yet we (people outside of SA) expect that apartheid ended and *poof* it was all kumbaya. In the end these complex and interesting people remained mostly bad or mostly good, they led lives devoid of joy either way. Everyone loses. Even for those who nominally won one expects that any victory will end up being pyrrhic at best, and possibly will end up being worse than losing. Do not read this for uplift, but damn it is good. ( )

Very well written book. Amazing but not a joyful read. It is always hard to read a book when you dislike all the characters. Even my beloved SA did not put on a good show. ( )

The Promise, Damon Galgut's eighth novel, is set in South Africa. I was impressed with the rich flowing narrative style, reminiscent of Faulkner in my experience. Early in the story I was struck by an allusion to Camus' novel L'Etranger, while at moments I sensed an existential aura, although not nearly as powerful as his previous Booker short-listed novel, In a Strange Room, whose protagonist, a solitary wanderer, exudes the uncertainty often found in existentialist fiction. In The Promise as in Galgut's other literature there are typical references to the complex realm of South African society and politics, particularly apartheid's impact.

The narrative follows the Swarts (ironically swart means black in Afrikaans), a white family descended from Dutch pioneers who arrived in South Africa in the seventeenth century. The three Swart children grow up in a world where apartheid, a system that formally separated South Africans based on race, is being phased out. Each of the novel's four parts is centered on the death of one of the Swart family members, tracing the Swarts' deterioration. Among the key aspects that augment this deterioration are divisions among both the family and their black household employees along religious, race, and age differences. Also imperative is the development of the two youngest members of the Swart family, Anton and Amor. While Amor, the youngest is too young to remember some of the darker history of apartheid, Anton is literally driven apart by it both from the family and within his own self-identity.

This book reminded me of Joseph Roth's The Radetzky March in which he used the decline of a family to mirror the the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In a similar way, Galgut's novel with its chronicle of the deaths of members of the Swart family provides a mirror or perhaps a metaphor for the dissolution of the Afrikaners' regime in South Africa. It is profound in its details and ultimate message. Because of its roving, fluid point of view, The Promise is stylistically similar to some of the best works of literary modernism and holds its own in comparison with the great novels of J. M. Coetzee. The narrative's deft blending of the Swart family history beside the devolution of the apartheid state in South Africa is presented in a unique and powerful way. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to better understand twentieth century South Africa. ( )