Kings of the Water

Item: Kings of the Water
Author: WhichBook

Mark Behr

I found this difficult to follow at first as it jumps between scenes and characters both past and present in a very piecemeal way. But as the story unfolds and the fragments fit together it becomes totally absorbing - an elegiac novel to be slowly savoured.

Extract

The stoep glimmers red, smelling of Cobra polish. The gate is locked but the front door beyond the enclosure is open. Less dusky than memory has had it, the hallway's floorboards shine where light falls from the bedrooms in skewed rectangles. Food is either being prepared or already in the warming oven. Leg of lamb, he imagines. Rice with raisins. Sweet potatoes in cinnamon and lemon. Sliced carrots in brown sugar sauce. Green beans.

Parallels