A Dry White Season

Ben Du Toit teaches history and geography in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the period of the height of the youth riots in the township of Soweto. At Ben's school, Gordon Ngubene, a native, is a cleaner and he occasionally does little chores for Ben. When Ben sees that Jonathan, Gordon's son, is showing signs of intelligence and diligence, he decides to partly finance his education. One day however, Jonathan takes part in a demonstration which ends up in a violent riot and is arrested by the police. A few weeks later, after a harrowing quest through countless offices, Ben and Gordon are informed that Jonathan died "of natural causes" while in detention. Due to the mystery surrounding his son's death, Gordon gives up his job in order to devote himself entirely to the enquiries which have become an obsession with him. Both the Special Branch and the Security Police are annoyed about Gordon's insistence and soon enough Gordon is arrested. After numerous attempts to try to trace Gordon and speak to him, Ben and Gordon's wife Emily are told by the spokesman of the Security Police that Gordon apparently committed suicide by hanging himself with strips torn from his blanket. But Ben Du Toit senses that the official explanations for both Jonathan's and Gordon's deaths are just a pretext for poorly disguised murders and so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts investigating. Mr Brink's novel is a harrowing account of a solitary man's fight against all the atrocities of the Apartheid. During this dark period in the history of South Africa, a white man had to be a real hero to fight for the right of the Afrikaners. The author beautifully captures the fact that Ben has to fight not only the resentment of the people of the other race, but also that of the people belonging to his own race - his family for a start. The descriptions of the townships of Johannesburg, particularly that of Soweto, are breathtaking in their accuracy and poignancy.

i read this while i was a high school student and i can honestly say it has been one of the few books that have made an impact on the way i view society. read it! you'll love it!

André Brink's novel, A Dry White Season, is a captivating, yet realistic tale about the unfair treatment of blacks in Johannesburg, South Africa. I found it to be an excellent read because of how Brink is in touch with reality. He has his readers ponder a true-to-life question, an ongoing question about racism. Ben Du Toit, the protagonist, finds the deaths of his African-American friend, Gordon Ngubene, and Gordon's son, Jonathan, to be unusual. Both deaths appeared to be caused and covered up by the government. Ben spends his entire life in hopes of uncovering the truth behind these two mysterious deaths. Were they treated unjustly because they were black? This is the question that Ben solves throughout the novel and unfortunately, his quest draws him away from his family and friends. In the end, Ben, living in complete isolation and sadness, discovers that his country is unfair. He triumphs, however, because he is no longer ignorant of his country's behavior. This novel relates to us because we are well aware of racism and injustice. It is very true that Ben's family would leave him if he did not spend time with them. Brink did not falsify the truth with a happy ending but instead allowed the reader to feel Ben's loneliness.

A heart gripping, eye watering, investigation about two innocent victims tortured and put to death by political powers. This detective story raises many important issues about political abuse and political lies that have been recently common in the United States of America, "the land of the free." One of the most significant issues in the story is about enforcing laws that hurt not only the ones being tortured and killed but also the entire society who becomes captive of its government through fear. This is a very strong and powerful story, complete with excitement, suspense, drama, comedy and love; making it a great combination to facilitate the introduction of important issues and at the same time keep the reader intrigued while using humor and love to lighten-up the tension of the reader.