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Under The African Sun
Remember that desperate time after university when career choices are made intertwined with mating matters? Love, desire, work, all jostle for time and space in a swirl of emotion and choice, set on South Africa's 1970s stage with the grim backdrop of apartheid's security police looming. Deborah Morley is an intern on a Cape Town newspaper. She's told to shadow Charlie, the political reporter, and she gets to listen to the Prime Minister's shocking speech and observe the reporting of it. She begins to have doubts about her choice of a news journalist career. What she really wants is a fairy tale wedding and a picket fence future in the suburbs. But her country is being torn apart by unrest and she's in love with Chris, a Politics lecturer at the university.
208 pages, Paperback
Published November 24, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 30, 2017
Excellent and scary political thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat!
The book is set in South Africa, 1976. Deborah Morley had graduated from Rhodes University, Grahamstown and was a political correspondent intern. She shared a house with her friend, Julia, while her boyfriend, Chris, who was a political lecturer, lived on his stud farm in Hout Bay.
Deborah was tasked to follow another political reporter, Charlie, to report on the Prime Minister’s speech which was appalling. She and Chris were targeted by the Security Branch (equivalent to the UK’s MI5) for possessing banned political materials such as pamphlets. Tortures were typically vile and used by the SB.
1976 was one of the darkest years affecting the majority of the South African population. Afrikaans was enforced in the Bantu education by the narcissistic Education Minister, who was supported by the Nazi-sympathetic Prime Minister.
It took me about five hours to read this heart-stopping thriller and I still have to ask myself, who the person was!
Caesar13
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
The book is set in South Africa, 1976. Deborah Morley had graduated from Rhodes University, Grahamstown and was a political correspondent intern. She shared a house with her friend, Julia, while her boyfriend, Chris, who was a political lecturer, lived on his stud farm in Hout Bay.
Deborah was tasked to follow another political reporter, Charlie, to report on the Prime Minister’s speech which was appalling. She and Chris were targeted by the Security Branch (equivalent to the UK’s MI5) for possessing banned political materials such as pamphlets. Tortures were typically vile and used by the SB.
1976 was one of the darkest years affecting the majority of the South African population. Afrikaans was enforced in the Bantu education by the narcissistic Education Minister, who was supported by the Nazi-sympathetic Prime Minister.
It took me about five hours to read this heart-stopping thriller and I still have to ask myself, who the person was!
Caesar13
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
October 17, 2017
The first time you fell in love, the unforgettable fling, the break-up that changed the way you felt about love and romance, the relationship that could’ve been, but never was – everyone has a ‘one that got away’. For Deborah Morley – the protagonist in Gail Gilbride’s novel, Under the African Sun – it was Chris Jarvis. It’s never said, but, even in the early chapters of the book, there’s a clear sense it’s going to be the case.
There is, however, another theme that runs parallel to the story of love and heartbreak; a socio-political coming-of-age. Even so, as the country barely endures one of the most volatile eras in history, the reader is reminded that the day-to-day ups and downs experienced by individuals prevail regardless.
Set in turbulent South Africa in the mid-1970s, Under the African Sun tells the convincing story of recent university graduate, Deborah, who finds work as an intern for a Cape Town newspaper. She is in love with (and in awe of) political lecturer and activist, Chris. Naïve, idealistic and giddy with youthful passion, Deborah allows Chris to lament her political ignorance. Paradoxically though, he also insists she remain that way for her own safety. She, unsure of her future as a reporter and nursing dreams of marriage and domesticity, is more or less content to do so – until circumstances see her experience some of the violence first hand.
In Under the African Sun, Hout Bay-based Gilbride refers to speeches by then-prime minister BJ Vorster, protests in the streets of Cape Town and the Soweto Riots. Moreover, Chris is a political activist, but the novel is not first and foremost a political story. It’s a heartfelt historical romance that tells the tale of the excitement and anguish of first love, the importance of friendships, and the many things that determine the decisions we make as young adults. It’s a story – told with skill, humour and sensitivity – that also demonstrates why it’s essential to ‘come of age’ when you’re young enough to roll with the punches.
There is, however, another theme that runs parallel to the story of love and heartbreak; a socio-political coming-of-age. Even so, as the country barely endures one of the most volatile eras in history, the reader is reminded that the day-to-day ups and downs experienced by individuals prevail regardless.
Set in turbulent South Africa in the mid-1970s, Under the African Sun tells the convincing story of recent university graduate, Deborah, who finds work as an intern for a Cape Town newspaper. She is in love with (and in awe of) political lecturer and activist, Chris. Naïve, idealistic and giddy with youthful passion, Deborah allows Chris to lament her political ignorance. Paradoxically though, he also insists she remain that way for her own safety. She, unsure of her future as a reporter and nursing dreams of marriage and domesticity, is more or less content to do so – until circumstances see her experience some of the violence first hand.
In Under the African Sun, Hout Bay-based Gilbride refers to speeches by then-prime minister BJ Vorster, protests in the streets of Cape Town and the Soweto Riots. Moreover, Chris is a political activist, but the novel is not first and foremost a political story. It’s a heartfelt historical romance that tells the tale of the excitement and anguish of first love, the importance of friendships, and the many things that determine the decisions we make as young adults. It’s a story – told with skill, humour and sensitivity – that also demonstrates why it’s essential to ‘come of age’ when you’re young enough to roll with the punches.
October 19, 2023
In her book, "Under the African Sun", Gail Gilbride skilfully weaves a tale of love in the beautiful yet sometimes harsh circumstances that all who have lived or sojourned in Africa and/or South Africa will know only too well. The turbulent final years of the Apartheid Regime in South Africa become the setting for a potentially ordinary love story which develops into anything but ordinary. In a country fraught with political tension and mistrust, the Special Branch goes all out to destroy liberally-minded citizens who oppose the regime. Innocently having fallen head-over-heels in love with a courageous young lecturer who, although a pacifist, is not going to accept the injustice of the government, Deborah is drawn into the dark world of political intrigue, violence and subterfuge. An accurate reflection of the political pressures in the 1970's, the book is important because it makes us aware that it was not only black people who were part of the struggle against Apartheid. There are many citizens of different races who gave their lives for the cause and who do not receive credit for having sacrificed for the sake of justice. Thank you Gail, for making us aware of this. I could not put it down and I cried my heart out as the pages turned. I have read it three times and will read it again willingly - it is an honest, beautiful and tragic account of life under the African sun!
September 18, 2018
Gilbride’s historical romance takes place against the background of turbulent times in South Africa during the mid 1970's. Deborah Morley’s love interest is a lecturer and activist deeply involved in politics; Debra is a naïve and idealistic young woman who has just embarked on her journalistic career. It’s an evocative exploration of that first deeply felt love with all its heartbreak, and how adulthood requires us to face difficult choices. Daily life runs in parallel to political upheaval giving one a sense of the confusion and fear that prevailed. Can the individual make a difference? Are there different ways of contributing to the metamorphosis of a society that has lost its way? The novel suggests all these themes without being a heavy read. Believable fictional characters have the power to make us feel what happened in history even though we weren’t there. Gilbride’s novel is a welcome addition to the South African literary landscape. A satisfying read that stayed with me.
December 11, 2022
Under the Sun is set in South Africa in the 1970s, one of the most tumultuous times in the country’s troubled history – a time of raids by the apartheid security police and rioting in Soweto. It is part heart-wrenching love story, part political thriller. Deborah Morley, a recent graduate and newspaper intern, is in love with Chris Jarvis, a Politics lecturer at the university and an activist. She dreams of marriage and children with him, but he is increasingly unavailable and, too late, Deborah realises the danger she is in. I found the characters sympathetic and believable, loved the writing, especially the descriptions of the South African landscape, and was hooked by the powerful sense of unease amidst the lushness and beauty. Gilbride is a born storyteller and I could not put this book down. Highly recommended.
May 13, 2022
This is a beautifully-written novel. The main character, Deborah Morley, is sympathetic and complex, strong and vulnerable, intelligent and naïve. Her passion for social justice leads her into a romantic relationship with Chris, a Politics lecturer at the university who turns out to be less than reliable. The author effectively conveys South Africa’s political turmoil during the 1970’s, and she describes the country’s landscape and wildlife in vivid detail. The fast-paced plot is gripping. Highly recommended!
June 7, 2017
Under the African Sun is a must read for all romance lovers. It's a fast paced love story against a backdrop of passion and politics. The characters are real and relatable. Set in the tumultuous 1970s in South Africa, the story is a stark reminder that life is about living, loving, losing and then living again for all of us in more ways than one. Definitely well worth the read.
August 4, 2021
South African literature that grips. A young woman, often naive to the extent of dangers during 1970s apartheid, tells a heart wrenching story. It's worth grabbing the paperback. You'll want to keep this one!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews