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The Promise

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

** WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 **

This audiobook includes bonus content of Damon Galgut in conversation with Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre.

There is nothing unusual or remarkable about the Swart family, oh no, they resemble the family from the next farm and the one beyond that, just an ordinary bunch of white South Africans, and if you don't believe it then listen to us speak ...

The many voices of The Promise tell a story in four snapshots, each one centered on a family funeral, each one happening in a different decade. In the background, a different president is in power, and a different spirit hangs over the country, while in the foreground the family fights over what they call their farm, on a worthless piece of land outside Pretoria.

Over large jumps in time, people get older, faces and laws and lives all change, while a brother and sister circle around a promise made long ago, and never kept ...

'Astonishing' Colm Tóibín

'Gorgeous and pleasurable' Tessa Hadley

'The most important book of the last ten years' Edmund White

© Damon Galgut 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Africa

Critic reviews

A superb novel; a nuanced, sad, hilarious portrait of a family and a country (PAULA HAWKINS)
This story was so powerful, the writing so strong and supple... What an achievement (CLARE CHAMBERS)
A moving, brilliantly told family epic . . . darkly comic . . . phenomenally good (ELIZABETH DAY)
Layered, clever...with a gripping story (CLAIRE FULLER)
A brilliant book told over four decades and four funerals . . . These are characters dancing on the edge of ruin . . . Intoxicating (ANNA HOPE)
Astonishing . . . about fate and loss, about three siblings and land, a promise made a broken (COLM TOIBIN)
A remarkable tale of four generations of one South African family and of the country itself... No wonder it won the Booker
Vivid and suggestive, moving and often very funny
Outstanding . . . Gripping . . . There is also plenty of unexpected comedy
Brilliant... Rarely have I had such a strong sense, while reading a novel, that I myself was there, in the room with the characters
All stars
Most relevant
What a great story! Really sucks you in so you don't want to stop. Its beautifully read with very good accents for the different characters. Highly recommended.

Fantastic book!

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Surprisingly empty saga , with characters it is hard to care about, devoid of hope and that ultimately goes nowhere . Aside from the passing warmth of Salome , occasionally seen on the periphery , the overall experience is unpleasant . I immersed myself willingly for several days in Peter Noble’s compelling renditions of these cruel and self absorbed characters , hoping for some great epiphany, but apart from some really clever sentences and a few original insights , my hope remained unrequited. As in the story itself there was no true final reward .

Empty promise

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Fabulous writing and an intricate and believable story, with surprising wit and humour. Read the book first and loved it and was thrilled to find the narration to be so brilliant - it really added depth and understanding.

Superb

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Almost every sentence drew a picture of the country, of the people, of the attitudes of white dominated South Africa. When was drawn into the thinking, of each character as they were so beautifully revealed and characterised by the outstanding narration by Perter Noble.

Live another life in pictures

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Admittedly this is a beautifully crafted work, evoking many familiar themes and experiences, with fabulous authentic narration… but holy moly what a depressing saga!

Just so depressing!

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