She is barefoot, and the soles of her feet are cracked and dirty. A stout, solid woman, wearing a second-hand dress, given to her by Ma years ago. Pause a moment to observe, as she takes the sheets off the bed. My grandfather always talked about her like that, Oh, Salome, I got her along with the land.
It’s Salome, of course, who has been here on the farm forever, or that’s how it feels. Also, the origin of the surname in England comes from a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Sward in Cornwall, and the Swart family of The Promise certainly regard themselves as lords of their estate in Pretoria, as did landowners throughout South Africa in the apartheid era. Even the surname of the white family that is central to the story has meaning: ‘Swart’ is an Afrikaans surname meaning ‘black’, and the word ‘swart’ is also an archaic form of ‘swarthy’, so for a story that begins in South Africa under apartheid where skin colour determined every aspect of life, Galgut has employed ironic naming for these racist characters. The Promise is not only a very engaging story penned by a master storyteller, it also offers great riches for readers who are alert to passing allusions. I’ve read it as promptly as I could so that others can have the pleasure of reading it too. Today there are 19 reserves ahead of a would-be borrower for this remarkable book.
Not a bad problem to have, but still… The Promise, however, which I reserved after reading Joe’s compelling review at Rough Ghosts, came in on reserve for me, one day before the announcement that it’s on the Booker Prize shortlist. Meaning that reading plans, such as they are, have to be put on hold so that the pile of books can all be read before the due date.
And then we wait for ages, and lo! the reservations all come at once.
We read so many enticing reviews from our blogging friends that they exceed the book-buying budget and so we reserve the books at the library.
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