By Megan Thomas
Set on a varying timeline is George Jameson, a Native Commissioner in colonial/apartheid South Africa. His life is as good as it can get as a well-employed white man in the system, and he seemingly has everything: a happy family, a series of promotions, trust in his local community.
But times are transitioning under the apartheid government, he is starting to feel like a pawn in a game he doesn’t remember agreeing to play, and the (arguably non-existent anyway) sense of tribal community is crumbling before his eyes.
I read it as a school set-work and remember distinct mixed feelings about it – it was at times somewhat painfully drawn out (compounded by a teacher who would go through it sentence by sentence). But even through the school-based compulsory boredom, it was still a powerful, impactful story.
