A Blade of Grass by Lewis Desoto
Marit Laurens, a young woman of British descent, recently orphaned and newly wed, comes to live with her husband Ben on their farm, situated in an Edenic setting on the border of South Africa and an unnamed country. But when guerrilla violence and tragedy visit their lives, Marit finds herself in a tug of war between the local Afrikaaner community surrounding the farm and the black workers who live on it. Frightened and confused, she turns to the only person who can offer her friendship - her maid, Tembi. Marit stubbornly determines to run the farm with Tembi's help, until the encroaching civil war brings out their conflicting loyalties and turns their struggle into a fight for their lives. Written with exquisite lyricism and deep insight, this novel offers a profound perspective on what it means to be black and white in a country where both live and feel entitlement, and moves beyond its own time and place to become a universal story of the price of freedom.
Lewis DeSoto was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and emigrated with his family to Canada in the 1960s. A graduate of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia, he has exhibited in galleries across Canada. His writing has been published in numerous literary journals, and he was awarded the Books in Canada/Writers' Trust Short Prose Award. A past editor of The Literary Review of Canada, Lewis DeSoto lives with his wife, the Swedish artist Gunilla Josephson, in Toronto and Normandy, France. This is his first novel.
SKU | Unavailable |
ISBN 13 | 9780006392804 |
ISBN 10 | 0006392806 |
Title | A Blade of Grass |
Author | Lewis Desoto |
Condition | Unavailable |
Binding type | Paperback |
Publisher | Phyllis Bruce Books Perennial |
Year published | 2004-01-01 |
Number of pages | 416 |
Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
Note | Unavailable |