You Will Be Safe Here

So, it's been two days since I finished this book, and I still don't know how I am going to do it justice.

The story spans over 100 years in South Africa, from the second Boer War to post apartheid 2015. The main protagonists are an Afrikaans Boer wife and mother, who is taken to a concentration camp set up by the British (yes! that happened!) and a reserved, bookish teenage boy who is forced into a military style camp (dare we say conversion camp?!) by his misguided mother and brutish step father.

The way Barr connects these two seemingly separate narratives is touching and heart wrenching. I was fully immersed in the experience from the get go. There are multiple POV's within this story and occasionally it felt a bit jarring, but in such a capable author's hands, all is forgiven. I especially felt a connection to Willem (the teenage boy in 2010) and was so invested in his story that by the end I neglected my own children to finish the book.

This is a wonderful debut novel that left me heartbroken yet hopeful. It is shocking and compelling and I feel as though the characters will remain with me for some time. Bravo Mr. Barr!

This book made me so sad. Not because of the contents, necessarily, although that was of course a punch to the gut, but because it made me realise how rarely I get to read books like this, written with such a remarkable, bold, unsentimental style and hitting one right in the feelz (as the kids say) without resorting to fake dramatics or excruciating exposition. It was really, really excellent. The voices were varied, the connections subtle.. this is how it's supposed to be done. Looking forward to reading more from this writer.