Galgut describes the lives of a family over a few decades, with constantly shifting perspectives among the characters, as if they passed on the third person narrative like relay runners, with the omniscient narrator holding it all together.
The title refers to the promise made by the just deceased mother of the family to the black maid who worked on their farm and helped raised the children to receive a plot of land with a cabin as her own property. Now that the mother is dead, the father and the other members of the family are not inclined to deliver on this promise. The strongest voice in the book is that of Amor, the youngest daughter, who is the strongest proponent of living up to the promise, resulting in conflict with the rest of the family, or at best total indifference.
Galgut's writing, his style as much as his sense of composition, is excellent, and he manages to convey a deep sense of humanity - from deep anger to subtle tenderness - and the internal and external struggles they lead to.
Easy to recommend.
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