This reader impression was written and sent to LitNet on the writer's own initiative.
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Eye brother horn is like a rip current by which the reader is swept into an inescapable historical reality.
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Title: Eye brother horn
Author: Bridget Pitt
Publisher: Catalyst Press
ISBN: 9781946395764
“’uMfundisi would never turn his back on us.’’
“There’s no us, Daniel. You’re his son. I’m not. You’re a white man. I’m not. There’s no us.’’
Could young Moses’s bitter conclusion be eradicated by the power of a brotherhood independent of genes and personal interests? Would this brotherhood survive despite Moses’s realisation that he belonged elsewhere?
Eye brother horn is historical fiction. It is a novel for:
- bright young adults;
- those who have survived their own youth;
- readers who marvel at thoroughly researched historical fiction;
- all whose concepts of British colonialism in Africa need an update;
- animal lovers;
- conservation-conscious South Africans;
- all who delight in brilliant (proudly South African) literature; and
- the literary world up there and down under.
Dear reader, do you feel up to a challenge? Try reading Eye brother horn cursorily, just to get an idea of the content.
Checkmate.
It is impossible to skim through Bridget Pitt’s brilliantly crafted and meticulously researched historical novel, which relates its story from 1862 to July 1879.
Eye brother horn is like a rip current by which the reader is swept into an inescapable historical reality. The story, in which a much larger reality is illuminated on a small scale, takes the reader to the origin of some of the scars in contemporary South African society.
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History and truth can be more glorious and more horrifying than fiction.
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But there is more. In physical oceanography, undertow is defined as an underwater current flowing strongly away from shore. The reader of this novel feels the tug of numerous enchanting, poignant, astonishing and mystical undertows. This novel is alive with myths, superstitions, dangers and legends. History and truth can be more glorious and more horrifying than fiction.
Moses and Daniel, the main characters
Moses, the missionary Whitaker’s adopted son, soon realises that the truth regarding his origin is being withheld from him. His desire to find out who he really is grows stronger. He is the youngster with the analytical, scientific mind. His uneasiness with the kind of religion practised and propagated at the mission station soon becomes apparent.
Moses’s biggest problem is with the God in whose name Reverend Whitaker acts. Since uMfundisi’s God is evidently a deity of European affinities, the assimilation of all Zulu converts into the dogma of the missionaries to whom they owe their conversion is a prerequisite. Something in Moses refuses to accept the prerequisite. Being the one with the analytical, scientific mindset, he doubts the essence of the religion practised at the mission station.
He questions the biblical story of creation and Reverend Whitaker’s concepts of sin, morality, iniquity and evil. Deep down, he experiences himself as an alien who does not fit into the British missionary and colonialist set-up, but is also not accepted by his own people. He overhears conversations and projections about his future: that he is being raised and educated to be a good Christian at the mission to bring the gospel to the Magwaza people. Upon accepting the gospel, “they’ll wear proper clothes and come every Sunday for service and won’t do bad things like witchcraft and polygamy”.
Daniel Whitaker, who as an infant narrowly escaped a deadly attack by a rhino, does not fit in either. He is totally out of place with the brutal practices and expeditions of those who mow down big and ground/small game.
The emotional and spiritual space in which the adolescent brothers find themselves becomes increasingly untenable to both.
Moses escapes from the boredom, racism and frustration by immersing himself in astronomy and science.
Daniel, however, cannot escape the agonies of a visceral kinship with animals. Initially, he collapses and dies a lesser death when they collapse and die. But eventually he sees no other way but to choose the outcome without guarantees.
The saying goes: the past predicts the future. The reader who senses that the turmoil in both brothers’ thoughts and emotions will inevitably lead to either catastrophe or change, may indeed trust his intuition.
Secondary characters
Every character in this novel plays a significant role as a believable, authentic person in whom both good and evil are present. The likes of the Reverend Whitaker are alive and well and living down the road. In the ailing Kazi, one recognises generations of selfless mothers and submissive wives. The people on and around the mission station are the wheat and the tares, the destroyers and the bereft, the wise and the foolish on every continent and in every generation.
Eye brother horn is a journey into uncharted territories
The novel is presented in seven sections. Like the past, the historical and colonial milieu, the European missionary and ancient African religious beliefs and traditions, the inner conflicts and connections of characters in Eye brother horn are the realities of a different country. Upon the reader’s arrival at each of the seven sections, the author stamps the passport that permits the reader to enter and experience uncharted territories and truth.
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Can truth be so horrific? It can, indeed.
Can truth be so beautiful, so powerful, so inescapable and inspiring? Yes, it can be so.
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Can truth be so horrific? It can, indeed. The further the story takes one from one’s own familiar shores, the louder Wordsworth’s lament tolls: “Have I not reason to lament/ What man has made of man” and other living beings?
Can truth be so beautiful, so powerful, so inescapable and inspiring? Yes, it can be so. Oxford University’s Professor Ian Golden rightly calls this novel “an extraordinarily powerful parable for our times”.
If you had to spend your hard-earned money on one specific book this year, spend it on Eye brother horn by Bridget Pitt.
UBridget Pitt, lena inoveli yomlando ebabazekayo.[1]
[1] Bridget Pitt, this is a magnificent historical novel.
See also: