The Promise

 
　　座落在南非首都近郊的一座大農場，隸屬於來自荷蘭的Swart一家，近期籠罩在悲傷之中。女主人Rachel因癌症過世，死前心心念念，希望能把土地和房屋產權留給替他們家幫傭一輩子的Salome，然而當時南非法律上明文規定，有色人種不允許在白人區域擁有自己的產權。女主人的遺願未竟，Swart剩餘的家人已分崩離析，四散在南非各地，唯有小女兒仍心繫母親的念想，可惜她在家族中不具任何發聲權，只能揣著遺憾遊蕩在南非大地。
 
　　三十年後，又因另一位家人的逝世，Swart家族再次聚首。南非國度物換星移，崇尚平等風氣，並聲稱越來越好的社會氛圍，Swart一家面對縈繞在彼此心上，當年那個如鬼魅般，從未實現過母親的承諾，該將如何處置？
(文／博客來外文館)

　　SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE
　　A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE

　　A modern family saga that could only have come from South Africa, written in gorgeous prose by twice Booker Prize-shortlisted author Damon Galgut.

　　Haunted by an unmet promise, the Swart family loses touch after the death of their matriarch. Adrift, the lives of the three siblings move separately through the uncharted waters of South Africa; Anton, the golden boy who bitterly resents his life’s unfulfilled potential; Astrid, whose beauty is her power; and the youngest, Amor, whose life is shaped by a nebulous feeling of guilt.

　　Reunited by four funerals over three decades, the dwindling family reflects the atmosphere of its country—an atmosphere of resentment, renewal, and, ultimately, hope. The Promise is an epic drama that unfurls against the unrelenting march of national history, sure to please current fans and attract many new ones.
“Simply: you must read it.”—Claire Messud, Harper’s Magazine

Damon Galgut’s 2003 novel The Good Doctor won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region) and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In a Strange Room (Europa, 2010) was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In 2013, Galgut was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.