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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jan 2006, 304 pages
Paperback:
Apr 2006, 304 pages
From the book jacket:
Ten years after leaving South Africa, the country of her birth and the
place where her mother died, Eva van Rensburg returns to her dying father, a
violent man whose terrible secret Eva has kept since she was a child. Fugard vividly describes the isolation of Eva's
rebellious and lonely English mother; the desperation of her Afrikaner father as
drought destroys his farm; the conflicts among the black farm workers as the
younger generation questions the loyalty and subservience of their elders; and
the dangerous silence of a young girl who witnesses too much.
Like Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee, Fugard has written a profoundly
moving family drama, subtly set against the backdrop of a country in turmoil.
She moves with extraordinary agility between intimate and revelatory domestic
scenes and the fiercely challenging land. This is a powerful story from a
stunning new writer.
Comment: Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist give Skinner's Drift starred
reviews, and Kirkus says 'Fugard's plot is gripping and her prose is
effortless, but what is most impressive is her ability to effectively explore
broad themes through a family story. A dazzling debut.'
'Africa itself comes through here, loud and clear and bold. And if the
fictional Eva has trouble contending with her heritage, the author has her own
daunting legacy: her father, the distinguished playwright Athol Fugard. This
novel should be "read with compassion and an open mind," Alexandra Fuller
writes in a generous, glowing blurb, and she's right. Skinner's Drift
takes a dense, inexplicable, utterly perplexing subject and makes it readable
in spite of itself, which turns out to be a fine and admirable accomplishment.' - The Washington Post.
This review
first ran in the January 18, 2006
issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
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