An astonishing debut novel set in South Africa telling the story of Clare Wald, an aging author, and her conversations with her biographer, Sam as he sets out to write her life story.
The novel has four, often contradictory narrative strands: "Sam" is told from Leroux's perspective; "Clare" charts Wald's internal attempts to make sense of her daughter's disappearance; "Absolution" relates events in the third person; while "1989" begins at the point the lives of a young Leroux and Laura Wald first intersect.
Many questions about South Africa are asked in the book, when is violence acceptable, can you ever justify it, what was the point of the Truth and Reconciliation Council, what censorship went on during apartheid and who performed it as well as writing about the violence there today. Some might complain that his description of today’s violence is unjust, but is it?
This is also the story of a regret for past actions and a mother’s love for a lost child and questioning how did she lose her and how much are parents responsible for their children’s actions.