The Promise (2021)
Who wrote it?
Damon Galgut (1963- ; active 1982- ), born Pretoria, South Africa. His father was from a Jewish family and his mother converted to Judaism. He was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of six, and found comfort in books, leading him to develop a passionate desire to write from an early age. He studied drama at the University of Cape Town.
He wrote his first novel, A Sinless Season, at the age of just 17. His third novel, The Quarry (1995), has twice been made into feature films (in 1998 and 2020). He has twice previously been shortlisted for the Booker, first in 2003 for The Good Doctor (which lost to Vernon God Little) and again in 2010 for In a Strange Room (when The Finkler Question was victorious.) With his eventual win in 2021, he became the third South Africa to win the Prize, following Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee.
Alongside novels, he has also written short stories and plays. He writes longhand rather than on a computer or typewriter, and has used the same Parker fountain pen for the majority of his career.
What's it about?
The Promise charts the decline of the white South African Swart family, at their farm outside Pretoria, over four decades. The novel covers the funerals of four out of five of the core family, against a backdrop of a changing South Africa, from the later years of Apartheid through the optimism of the Mandela years, Zuma-era corruption and into almost the present day.
The titular "Promise" refers most literally to a verbal promise made by Rachel, the mother of the family, to their black domestic servant, Salome, that she would be given ownership of the small house in which she lives on the family's land. Amor, the youngest daughter, is keen for this promise to be enforced, but the remainder of the family vary between outright rejection of the idea and simply letting it drift over the years.
What I liked
This is a stylistically brilliant novel. I loved the way Galgut slides between different characters, between the first person inner thoughts and third person omniscient narration. This chameleonic voice is incredibly executed, shifting near-imperceptibly within paragraphs and sometimes within sentences.
It sounds like an unusual and/or difficult style, but it takes only a few pages to get used to and then it’s an easy and enjoyable experience from there on in. That’s not to say you don’t notice it - it’s a style that by definition draws attention to itself, shaking you out of any comfort zone of perspective before you’ve had chance to settle into it. It’s at its most fun when it drifts into the minds of random secondary characters, giving brief windows into the complex lives of those on the periphery of the story.
The historical context is lightly referenced but still incredibly impactful. It relies on a little knowledge of South African history but not an excess of it, and it’s interesting to chart the ups and downs of these years as a backdrop to the inner lives of the main characters.
Despite this it’s also enjoyable on more straightforward terms: the book is full of memorable characters who pop off the page. Virtually none of them are in any way likeable, but they’re almost all entertaining to read about. A particular highlight is the troubled and plain-speaking alcoholic son Anton, a character who might have thrived in the “old” Apartheid era South Africa into which he was born but seems adrift in the new world.
It doesn’t pull any punches. Many of the characters are horrible - selfish and overtly racist. And yet Galgut allows them to damn themselves - without obvious commentary from an authorial voice, we simply see that their decline is inevitable as they fail to adjust to the new reality in which they live.
I thought the ending was pretty powerful, of which more below.
There’s some enjoyably dark humour in amongst the misery. In fact rather a lot of it. Some have complained that this is a depressing read - its outlook is undoubtedly bleak but the experience of reading it is actually quite a lot of fun on several levels.
What I didn’t like
While reading it, I did find myself quite distracted by the relative omission of black voices in the novel, notably that of Salome herself, the recipient of the promise but a character we never really get to know. Of course, in retrospect it’s painfully obvious that this is deliberate and part of the book's central point - characters like Salome are ignored, denied their voice as the main protagonists go about the business of navel-gazing self-destruction. It's telling that even when this is called out at the end of the novel as Amor tries to (finally!) make good on the promise it's not Salome who gets to do it but a younger, passionately angry relative.
Others have criticised the character of Amor for being too uncomplicatedly “perfect” and not sufficiently complex. Again though I wonder if this isn’t Galgut's deliberate point - for all the good she evidently does via her hospital work, she’s also able to play the (white) saviour from a distance - while her family perish by failing to move on from their roots, she is able to conveniently exempt herself from this fate by literally escaping. Her support of Salome's cause is passive and ultimately ineffective- by the end it’s too little too late and the help (/land) wasn’t even hers to rightly give in the first place.
So yeah, I don’t know if those points are actually criticisms - but I can see why they could be frustrations in the course of reading. It’s a really interesting book to think about, so I’m actually glad I left a bit of space between the reading and the writing on this one.
Food & drink pairings
Braai
JD, neat
Fun facts
Alongside the usual panel of distinguished writers and critics, such as Chigozie Obioma, this year the judging panel threw up another one of those slightly surprising curveballs in the shape of former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. He is also a poet, so not entirely random, but still noteworthy I feel.
Galgut says that the idea for the novel’s structure came to him over a semi-drunken afternoon during which a friend described a series of funerals.
On winning the prize, despite overwhelmingly positive emotions, Galgut also expressed some concern about the potential impact of his win on his method of writing:
"Most writers require solitude. Many hours of it to work properly. Even the relatively limited amount of attention that has come to me in previous years has eaten into that so I have only a dim sense of what winning this prize might mean for my future"
If you’re interested in listening to a really thoughtful discussion about this one, please do check out the always excellent Book Club Review Podcast’s recent episode on The Promise.
Vanquished Foes
Anuk Arudpragasam (A Passage North)
Patricia Lockwood (No One Is Talking About This)
Nadifa Mohamed (The Fortune Men)
Richard Powers (Bewilderment)
Maggie Shipstead (Great Circle)
The Women's Prize went to Susanna Clarke for Piranesi. Unusually, there was a direct crossover with the Booker shortlist in the shape of No One is Talking About This appearing on both lists in the same year. The Women’s Prize shortlist was made up exclusively of first-time nominees.
Context
In 2021:
Ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and related global disruption
January 6th US Capitol riots by supporters of outgoing President Trump
Inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th President of USA
Coup d'etat in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule
US rejoins Paris Climate Agreement, 107 days after leaving
Disruption of global trade by the blocked Ever Given container ship in the Suez Canal
Russian military build-up around Ukraine borders first reported in April
Breakaway European Super League football competition announced and then retracted in days after widespread condemnation
Discovery buys WarnerMedia from AT&T
Eurovision contest held in Rotterdam after 2020 cancellation, won by Italians Måneskin
Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich
UEFA Euro 2020 is held, a year late and hosted by 11 different countries, with England losing in the final to Italy
Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, is voted out of office
2020 Tokyo Olympics held a year late, and without spectators for most events
The first direct observation of light from behind a black hole is reported, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity
Taliban capture Kabul, leading to the surrender of the Afghan government in August
Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun
Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You
Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle
Spider-Man: No Way Home
No Time to Die
Dune
The Power of the Dog
Little Simz, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Billie Eilish, Happier Than Ever
Lil Nas X, Montero
Adele, 30
Life Lessons
Promises: may not be as advertised; read the small print
Score
8.5
Wonder if i’m being a bit stingy on this one. I did really enjoying reading and thinking about it, but I have a slight suspicion that it may fade a little from the memory over time.
Ranking to date:
Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders (2017) - 10
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) - 9.5
Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (1981) - 9.5
Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee (1999) - 9.5
The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan (2014) - 9.5
Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart (2020) - 9.5
Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo (2019) - 9
The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst (2004) - 9
Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively (1987) - 9
A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James (2015) - 9
The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (2008) - 9
Sacred Hunger - Barry Unsworth (1992) - 9
Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey (1988) - 9
The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch (1978) - 9
Life & Times of Michael K. - J. M. Coetzee (1983) - 9
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (1997) - 9
Schindler’s Ark - Thomas Keneally (1982) - 9
The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (2006) - 9
Life of Pi - Yann Martel (2002) - 8.5
Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel (2012) - 8.5
The Bone People - Keri Hulme (1985) - 8.5
The Promise - Damon Galgut (2020) - 8.5
How Late it Was, How Late - James Kelman (1994) - 8.5
Troubles - J.G. Farrell (1970, "Lost Booker") - 8.5
The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (2011) - 8
The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (2000) - 8
Possession - A. S. Byatt (1990) - 8
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (2009) - 8
The Testaments - Margaret Atwood (2019) - 8
Milkman - Anna Burns (2018) - 8
The Sellout - Paul Beatty (2016) - 8
Saville - David Storey (1976) - 8
The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton (2013) - 8
The Sea - John Banville (2005) - 8
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973) - 8
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre (2003) - 7.5
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje (1992) - 7.5
The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson (2010) - 7.5
Rites of Passage - William Golding (1980) - 7.5
The Gathering - Anne Enright (2007) - 7.5
True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey (2001) - 7.5
Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald (1979) - 7.5
Last Orders - Graham Swift (1996) - 7
The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens (1970) - 7
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974) - 7
Holiday - Stanley Middleton (1974) - 7
Heat & Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1975) - 6.5
In a Free State* - V.S. Naipaul (1971) - 6.5
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle (1993) - 6
G. - John Berger (1972) - 6
The Famished Road - Ben Okri (1991) - 6
Something to Answer For - P. H. Newby (1969) - 5.5
The Ghost Road** - Pat Barker (1995) - 5.5
Staying On - Paul Scott (1977) - 5
Amsterdam - Ian McEwan (1998) - 5
Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner (1984) - 4.5
The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis (1986) - 4
*Read in later condensed edition.
**Third part of a trilogy of which I hadn’t read pts 1&2
There it is then, the ranking! MY ranking, of course. Would I tweak any of it in retrospect? Perhaps. Of course, this is only complete until the 2022 winner is announced…
Next up
The reading world is my oyster! I’m not sure where it will take me next, but I’ll be looking at previously shortlisted Booker winners & Women’s Prize winners in due course, as well as anything that takes my fancy. Blog posts will be less frequent and perhaps a little less in depth…
