Kasa Cotugno's Reviews > Absolution

One of the best books I've read. There are three major characters, two of whom, Sam and Clare, are unreliable narrators, and Clare's daughter Laura who lives only in their memory. The intricate, violent, complicated final days of apartheid in South Africa are rendered in four platforms, through narrative fiction and memoir. Lies are told and truths distorted.

The story unravels but not in Roshomon fashion. The truth is elusive, as elusive as memories of Laura and her motivations. What is truly remarkable about this book is that it is a debut novel, and further, that Flanery did not grow up in Cape Town or experience first hand the times he writes so eloquently about. This is a novel that shows promise beyond that of most first time outings. Need I say, highly recommended.