| South Africa's apartheid shocks a retired professor, Mrs. Curren, when her maid's black son is murdered by police security forces. Mrs. Curren herself is dying slowly of cancer and she writes letters to her long-gone daughter in a day by day journal form (this book): after a life dedicated to books and culture, the recent murder she's witnessed has also opened her eyes to the horrors of apartheid, which in return is raising a counter attack of the black youth; they might be the begining of an 'age of iron' after the age of clay and stone that their slave parents were.
Mrs. Curren's depression turns into dead calm when she finds a beggar at her door, a man named Vercueil. He only wants food and drinks, but soon after he finds himself becoming fond of this old lady, finally promising to make sure that these letters to her daughter in America will be delivered after she's passed away. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - depressed Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Political/social activism Yes Plotlet: Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Pearls of wisdom from homeless? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 60's-90's Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 () Africa Yes Kind of Africa: - White Enclave Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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