Today’s team review is from Frank.
Frank has been reading The Old Sun by Richard Arterton.
The title has a double meaning: it is the name of the English pub the the two principle protagonists frequent for long drinking sessions. But it is also a reference to the last days of Apartheid in South Africa.
Jack is a retired mining engineer who has feelings of guilt and regret about the things that happened whilst he was working for a mining company in the Diamond belt of South Africa in the 1970s and ’80s. Will is a disillusioned teacher of English at a college of further education in the English East Midlands. He is also an alcoholic. Jack persuades him to help with his quest to find his two estranged daughters.
The narrative moves between events in England in the months following the Brexit referendum in 2016, and life in the South African diamond mines 30 to 40 years earlier, with occasional flashbacks to Will’s marriage and his descent into alcoholism
Like Will, the author is an English teacher and we are given insights into some of his lectures on English literature. There is, too, a satirical critique of developments in the UK’s education system with the introduction of management-speak and unrealistic targets.
Along the way we are treated to extracts from Jack’s father’s diary of his life in the Royal Air Force in the years preceding and during World War II.
In the background is Jade, the barmaid at the Old Sun pub, and her slowly developing relationship with Will. The portrayal of Jack’s alcoholism is graphic. The often harrowing events in South Africa expose corporate corruption and the expendability of African labour in the mining industry.
There are realistic scenes of domestic arguments as Will’s alcoholism destroys his marriage so that, like Jack, he becomes estranged from his daughter. What has become of Jack’s daughters is revealed gradually, a process that serves to pique the reader’s desire to discover what really happened.
This is a complex novel, dealing with controversial subjects, written by someone who demonstrates strong literary flair. There are passages that stand comparison with some of the most admired works of English literature. It is not uncommon for such works to be structured around separate, but loosely related, narratives. A feature that can be frustrating for the reader eager to find out what happens next in one story only to be dragged beck to the other. In this case, it definitely serves to increase the desire to keep reading.
When you reach the end you will realise that you have experienced an unforgettable journey to redemption. I have no hesitation in awarding 4 stars.
Book Description:
How much are we willing to endure in the name of forgiveness?
Set against the backdrop of World War II, the apartheid era in South Africa, and pre-Brexit Britain, The Old Sun delves into profound questions at the core of the human experience.
Jack Kogia, a septuagenarian and lifelong rogue, finds his days numbered. As he reflects on a life of excess, he enlists a former teacher, Pearce, to help him seek atonement with his estranged family.
What ensues is a journey of indulgence and adventure, culminating in a profound exploration of forgiveness and the far-reaching consequences of addiction.
