Troy Blacklaws's follow-up to his internationally acclaimed Karoo Boy is the bittersweet tale of a South African boy coming of age during apartheid Gecko's childhood is one of sheltered, almost magical innocence on a farm in Natal. He spends his days taking barefoot expeditions with his dogs and his nights listening to Springbok Radio, unaware of the cruel force in his life that apartheid will soon become. With the start of high school in the Cape, Gecko is thrust into a political and personal awakening that is both tragic and heartfelt. With conscription into the South African army looming...

Two characters navigate the post-apartheid South African landscape in this haunting story of the injustice that still simmers below the country s surfaceIn Troy Blacklaws s ambitious novel, the lives of two African men run parallel, exposing the tensions that rumble at South Africa s post-apartheid core. Jerusalem is a young poet and student whose stubborn father will no longer pay for his rambling studies. Half Jewish, half Muslim, Jerusalem is forced from Cape Town to a distant harbor village by his father, who believes a stint selling curios to tourists will right his...

Troy Blacklaws's acclaimed debut novel is the remarkable story of a boy coming of age in the wake of tragedy When his twin brother dies in a freak accident, Douglas's life begins to unravel. His mother leaves his father, taking Douglas with her to live in the Karoo region, a harsh desert landscape that is a far cry from Cape Town and the seaside life Douglas has always known. In this small village that is wary of outsiders, he makes two friends who change his life forever: a beautiful girl named Marika and an old man named Moses. Immersed in rich language and vivid detail, and set against the...