The Afrikaner
by Arianna Dagnino
When a car-jacking in Johannesburg leads to the death of her colleague and lover, Zoe du Plessis, a palaeontologist of Afrikaner origin, is suddenly confronted with her family’s secret, wrapped in an old Xhosa’s curse. As she heads for the Kalahari Desert in search of early human fossils, Zoe embarks on an inner journey into the sense of guilt haunting her people. Meaningful encounters with an aged Bushman, a legendary but troubled writer author and her ancestors’ diaries will reshape her sense of identity.
5 out of 5 fairies
Disclaimer: I’m writing this review as someone who doesn’t know much about South Africa outside what I’ve read in this story. (I was happy to discover this book was accessible to me without doing any research first). I thought this was an engaging read, that gave us a peek into post-Apartheid South Africa. So much was changing, and Zoe is a great lens to look at that through. Her personal journey to find her identity and her place in the world was emotional and so well-written. A brilliant piece of literary work, highly recommend.
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Praise for The Afrikaner
“Arianna Dagnino’s transcultural novel transports the reader into the complex and potentially dangerous world of its protagonist within sensually rich descriptions of southern Africa. The author’s experiential immersion in her topic is obvious in the detailed and nuanced familiarity she evokes with the various cultural groups that form the basis of her characters. Rarely does one encounter a novelist who can articulate so deftly the multiple perspectives that are at the heart of the changing sociological landscape of a place such as postcolonial South Africa. As one whose forebears were among the first Cape colonists, I found Dagnino’s The Afrikaner to be eerily compelling.”
—Dr. Kathryn Pentecost, freelance author, blogger, arts producer.
“A clever, fresh and widely resonating novel whose international, globalizing streak rescues us from stale and overly provincial atmospheres.”
—Dr. Carlo Testa, The University of British Columbia
“Quite amazing and intriguing that I identified with Zoe in so many ways … and have lived parts of her imaginary life for real. Well done with your portrayal of this character. You have the gift, that’s for sure.”
—Dr. Saskia Water, South African palaeontologist
“The text thoughtfully sharpens our awareness of the mingled yarns that create individual identities.”
—Dr. Michael Hattaway, New York University in London
I am the author of “The Afrikaner” (Guernica, April 2019), a novel inspired by the five years I spent in the southern African region as an international reporter. “The Afrikaner” is an on-the-road adventure story that covers the terrains of love, race, science and historical guilt under the African sky.
In the last 25 years I have built a diversified cultural and professional experience across many borders and five continents (I still have to do my stint in Antarctica, though!). In everyday life I am an academic lecturer, independent writer and literary translator. On a day-to-day basis I change hats frequently. I published several books – in English and Italian – on the (positive and negative) impact of globalization and digital technologies. I am a proud citizen of Australia and Canada.
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