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Red Dog
Red Dog | Willem Anker
3 posts | 1 read | 10 to read
A blistering, brutal novel of the South African frontier from a major new literary voice Winner of four major South African prizes At the end of the eighteenth century, a giant strides the Cape Colony frontier. Coenraad de Buys is a legend, a polygamist, a swindler and a big talker; a rebel who fights with Xhosa chieftains against the Boers and British; the fierce patriarch of a sprawling mixed-race family with a veritable tribe of followers; a savage enemy and a loyal ally. Like the wild dogs who are always at his heels, he roams the shifting landscape of southern Africa, hungry and spoiling for a fight. This is his story; the story of his country, and of our blood-soaked history. Red Dog is a brilliant, fiercely powerful novel-a wild, epic tale of Africa in a time before boundaries between cultures and peoples were fixed. Willem Anker was born in Citrusdal in the Western Cape in 1979 and lectures in creative writing at Stellenbosch University. His first novel, Siegfried, was published in 2007. Red Dog was published in Afrikaans in 2014 and won six major literary prizes in South Africa. It is his first novel to be translated into English.
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Therewillbebooks
Red Dog | Willem Anker
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Pretty good weekend book haul!

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rockpools
Red Dog | Willem Anker
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Hooray! I finished a book!

This is my surprise pick of the #bookerinternational2020 longlist. A big, bloody, ugly South African frontier story based on the man-legend-rebel-scoundrel Coenraad de Buys. I wouldn‘t have normally given this a second glance, but I loved it!

The language is rich, playful, evocative (for good or bad). There‘s a joy in the translation. And if you use the same insult twice, you‘re just not trying. 👇

rockpools Buys is complicated, but not unlikeable, and his wives (plural), children, and rare friendships bring some warmth to proceedings. Whilst I admit to skimming a couple of the pillaging scenes, the more unexpected domestic scenes were surprisingly touching.

I chuckled, I came close to shedding a tear, I learned how little I know about South Africa‘s history, and I was thoroughly entertained. I may even go as far as reading it again some day.
5y
TrishB Yay 🎉 and great review. 5y
See All 12 Comments
squirrelbrain Wow, sounds like a great book! And well done on finishing! 👍😁😘 5y
rockpools @squirrelbrain 👋. How‘s your Women‘s Prize list going? 5y
squirrelbrain I‘m stalled at the moment due to lack of books.... I think there‘s 3 of them due out in paperback in the next few weeks and, whilst I can‘t afford to buy books right now, I do have an Amazon voucher.... 😁 5y
Cathythoughts A breath of fresh air to hear your enthusiasm ❤️... must look this one up 😘 5y
rockpools @squirrelbrain Oh no, not a lack of books! 😱. Amazon vouchers sound like a very good plan though... 5y
rockpools @Cathythoughts 😘 Weird thing is, I‘m not sure how I feel about recommending it to other people. I may be in a strange mood. Or it maybe that the others on the longlist have been bleak and dark, and this is loud and brash and technicolour. The writing‘s fab though. 5y
squirrelbrain Well, not an *actual* lack of books - I probably have almost 200 unread books, but just not those particular shortlist books! 🤣 5y
rockpools @squirrelbrain 🤣🤣 Yep. I‘m guessing the shortlist for this is going to be all-the-grim-ones, and I will NOT be buying any more of those! 5y
squirrelbrain The shortlist for mine is out on 22nd April so I may wait until then, to see which I‘ve read / not read, before buying any more.... 5y
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rockpools
Red Dog | Willem Anker
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Hm. This is a surprise. Next up for #BookerInternational2020 and I kind of expected to dislike it intensely. So far (which isn‘t actually very far, so there‘s still time) though, I‘m loving it!

BookwormM Good to hear 5y
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