Immorality Act
By Berend Mets
Format: Paperback
(1 customer review)
Publication Date: 28 Feb 2024
£9.49
Want to buy as an ebook? Click hereCategories: Historical
ISBN: 9781916668287eISBN: 9781835740439
Description
Cape Town, in the 1960s.
Love across the colour bar is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.
John Terreblanche, a police reporter seeking redemption, tells the story of a Xhosa nurse, Promise Madiba, a Dutch doctor, Willem Jansen, and a Malay prostitute, Marja de Koning, who engage in a passionate love triangle in the shadow of the Sharpeville massacre, as South Africa lurches towards becoming a Republic.
Violent yet tender, Immorality Act spans from Indonesia to Cape Town and is a moving account of the impact of apartheid, racism and colonialism on lives in the twentieth century, as well as a celebration of the ungovernability of the human spirit.
Dr Berend Mets was born in Indonesia of Dutch parents, and amongst other countries grew up in apartheid South Africa where he became a doctor, anaesthetist and scientist. He came to fiction through an MFA degree after a career of medical, historical and scientific writing. Berend is a Professor of Anesthesiology at the Pennsylvania State University and divides his time between America, the Dutch Caribbean, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Reviews
Ulanda Neveling (Guest Review) - 08 Apr, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
Having grown up in South Africa during the apartheid era, I am familiar with the whole scandelous scenario if a white man was having a realtionship with a lady of another race and yes, the police most certainly did those raids at the time. Sad but true.
The three main characters - Willem, Promise and Marja - lovely description of them, their backgrounds and how it all fits in the story.
I was hooked and could not put the book down, wanted to know what was happening next. Ended up reading the book wihtin 3 evenings.
