A translation of the Afrikaans novel Roepman, done by Elsa Silke. Both funny and terrible, magical and grimly realistic, this is a coming of age novel about a young boy living in a railway settlement in Durban in the mid-sixties. Its narrator, thirteen-year-old Timus, is part of a large family who struggles to make ends meet, and where the father’s obsession with the church has distressing consequences. As youngest member of the family, he is cocooned in his own world and lags behind his peer group when it comes to the sweet and dark things in life. Although the life he observes around him is often sad and disturbing, the narration is suffused with a sense of wonder and has an emotional resonance that touches the reader’s heart. From reviews of the Afrikaans edition: “Roepman is a great South African novel.” – David Williams on Litnet“an absorbing reading experience . . . it entertains and shocks” – Willie Burger in Beeld“enjoyable and disturbing . . . a bittersweet reading experience” – Philip John in Die Burger“Van Tonder is a master of subtlety and suggestion” – Joan Hambidge in Die Volksblad
