The Promise
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- Create Date：2022-05-05 12:16:41
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Damon Galgut
- ISBN：1529113873
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Summary
***LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE***
A masterpiece of a family in crisis from twice Booker-shortlisted author Damon Galgut
'Astonishing' Colm Tóibín
'A literary masterpiece' Sarah Hall
The Promise charts the crash and burn of a white South African family， living on a farm outside Pretoria。 The Swarts are gathering for Ma's funeral。 The younger generation， Anton and Amor， detest everything the family stand for -- not least the failed promise to the Black woman who has worked for them her whole life。 After years of service， Salome was promised her own house， her own land。。。 yet somehow， as each decade passes， that promise remains unfulfilled。
The narrator's eye shifts and blinks: moving fluidly between characters， flying into their dreams; deliciously lethal in its observation。 And as the country moves from old deep divisions to its new so-called fairer society， the lost promise of more than just one family hovers behind the novel's title。
In this story of a diminished family， sharp and tender emotional truths hit home。 Confident， deft and quietly powerful， The Promise is literary fiction at its finest。
'Gorgeous and pleasurable' Tessa Hadley
'The most important book of the last ten years' Edmund White
'Simply: you must read it' Claire Messud
A masterpiece of a family in crisis from twice Booker-shortlisted author Damon Galgut
'Astonishing' Colm Tóibín
'A literary masterpiece' Sarah Hall
The Promise charts the crash and burn of a white South African family， living on a farm outside Pretoria。 The Swarts are gathering for Ma's funeral。 The younger generation， Anton and Amor， detest everything the family stand for -- not least the failed promise to the Black woman who has worked for them her whole life。 After years of service， Salome was promised her own house， her own land。。。 yet somehow， as each decade passes， that promise remains unfulfilled。
The narrator's eye shifts and blinks: moving fluidly between characters， flying into their dreams; deliciously lethal in its observation。 And as the country moves from old deep divisions to its new so-called fairer society， the lost promise of more than just one family hovers behind the novel's title。
In this story of a diminished family， sharp and tender emotional truths hit home。 Confident， deft and quietly powerful， The Promise is literary fiction at its finest。
'Gorgeous and pleasurable' Tessa Hadley
'The most important book of the last ten years' Edmund White
'Simply: you must read it' Claire Messud
Reviews
Canadian 135
，
The long fall of a white South African farming family， before， during and after apartheid。 Booker Prize Winner。 The book flows beautifully， sweeping us through time and （some） changes， internal and external。 Suffers， though， from being the white gaze， white perspectives only， which left me flat。 Wonderful vignettes， plot， great characterization， humour， revelation。 But almost old-fashioned type of story-telling。 Missing the vigour and energy of so many contemporary African writers。
Chris
，
Superbly written。
Grace Grobler
，
Can not understand why or how it got the Booker prize。 Not n nice book to read 。 So unnecessary banal and senseless
David Campbell
，
South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut's 2021 winner of The Booker Prizes about the promises both given and unfilled by British colonialism and the human toll they exact on individuals， families， nations， and continents。 Spanning the course of four decades from the end of South African apartheid to the late 2010's， the Afrikaans Swart family of rural Pretoria contends with their matriarch Rachel's deathbed wish: to leave a simple shack on the family farmstead to their Black housekeep South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut's 2021 winner of The Booker Prizes about the promises both given and unfilled by British colonialism and the human toll they exact on individuals， families， nations， and continents。 Spanning the course of four decades from the end of South African apartheid to the late 2010's， the Afrikaans Swart family of rural Pretoria contends with their matriarch Rachel's deathbed wish: to leave a simple shack on the family farmstead to their Black housekeeper Salome。 Rachel's widow Maine and her three children Anton， Astrid， and Amor， however， find themselves unable to live through on the promise （even when desperately desiring to do so） as their very humanity underwriting this impulse also can't find it's way out of it's own complexity and fallibility， this complexity and fallibility made only more complex and fallible by colonialism's inherent contradiction: infusing natural notions of home and belonging into a people who fundamentally can claim neither。 Based on Southern American novelist William Faulkner's masterpiece 'As I Lay Dying' （1930）， Galgut brings a similarly edgy， gothic-like spiritual and cultural exegesis to world where White Supremacy follows it's logical conclusion to nothingness for all involved （be they White or not）。 。。。more
Kathryn
，
Set in south Africa， books follows one family and funerals of each set roughly 10 years apart。 It explores the 'promise" of the mother on her death bed to the long time family help to bequeath a small home on the property and the youngest daughter's attempts to fulfill this promise。 Set in south Africa， books follows one family and funerals of each set roughly 10 years apart。 It explores the 'promise" of the mother on her death bed to the long time family help to bequeath a small home on the property and the youngest daughter's attempts to fulfill this promise。 。。。more
Candi
，
This novel was a first-rate reading experience。 Damon Galgut accomplished several things I have come to demand as a picky reader。 First of all， it’s skillfully written。 Any book that’s going to achieve five star status absolutely has to meet this requirement！ Beyond that， there’s a compelling plot， rather epic though not dragged out。 The author manages to effectively do this with some decent leaps in time， without missing his mark when landing in the next decade or so。 Then there’s the excellent This novel was a first-rate reading experience。 Damon Galgut accomplished several things I have come to demand as a picky reader。 First of all， it’s skillfully written。 Any book that’s going to achieve five star status absolutely has to meet this requirement！ Beyond that， there’s a compelling plot， rather epic though not dragged out。 The author manages to effectively do this with some decent leaps in time， without missing his mark when landing in the next decade or so。 Then there’s the excellent characterization。 There is no danger of mixing up one character with another; each one stands vivid in my mind well after finishing。 The majority of them are not entirely likeable。 In fact， they are often selfish and sometimes cruel。 No matter – I relished reading about each and every one of them！ Last but not least – perhaps the cherry on top – was the funny， often mocking， omniscient narrator。 This can make or break a book for me。 Here， the narrator’s voice absolutely won me over。 He （or she？！） addresses anything and everything， but most frequently， the reader。 “A curious scene， this low-key festivity just a day after Ma has died， but on the other hand people have to eat， life goes on。 They’ll be drinking and making bawdy jokes soon after you go too。”The novel opens with the death of Ma， mother of Anton， Astrid and Amor， and wife to Manie Swart。 The Swarts have been summoned back to the homestead in South Africa。 Just prior to this event， Amor， the youngest， overheard a conversation between Ma and Pa。 A promise was made between a husband and a wife。 Salome， the black woman who has served as housekeeper and caregiver to the family for years， lives in a small house on a piece of land owned by the family。 Manie promises he will fulfill Ma’s wish to give the house to Salome。 This promise will be the thread that weaves its way throughout the entirety of the novel。 Galgut goes further with this。 He manages to liken this personal promise to the politics of a nation in turmoil。 Quite remarkably， he does this without ever getting heavy handed。 Family members range from being entirely against fulfilling this promise （and for that matter， when the book begins， it’s not even a legal possibility）， to being rather wishy-washy about it， to seemingly supporting it wholeheartedly。 Isn’t it often the case when we uphold （with what we believe to be earnest support） an idea yet still fail to follow through？ Are good intentions enough？ Perhaps they just make us feel more comfortable about ourselves。 “The question of the Lombard place and her mother’s last wish and her father’s promise， really several questions although they feel like only one， has followed her around the world， bothering her at particular moments like a stranger importuning her in the street， plucking at her sleeve， crying out。 Attend to me！ And she knows that she must， one day she will have to answer， but why should one day be today？”This reminded me of a quote by Mark Twain: “Never put off till tomorrow， what you can do the day after tomorrow。” I’m sure our narrator would appreciate the sarcasm in that one。 The house and the piece of land in question aren’t even all that noteworthy。 In fact， Galgut never depicts the landscape in a sentimental fashion， even through his characters。 Rather than beauty， one imagines something stark， desolate， and often threatening。 Yet it belongs to the Swarts！ No one can take that away from them， no matter how fruitless the plot of land really is。“Useless ground， full of stones， you can do nothing with it。 But it belongs to our family， nobody else， and there’s power in that。”The ending really tied it all together for me – I found it to be brilliant！ Regardless of our power， our status， our color， our gender or any of that nonsense which we think sets “us” apart from the “other”， we are really all on the same plane， aren’t we？ Nature and the universe do not distinguish us in this way。 What makes us so extraordinary that we should set ourselves above another？ I can still hear that subtle， refined snicker of Galgut’s narrator in my ear。 Oh， and did I say this was dark？ Yeah， it is。 I loved it。“But in the meantime there is the body， the horrible meaty fact of it， the thing that reminds everyone… that one day they shall lie there too… emptied out of everything， merely a form， unable even to look at itself。 And the mind recoils from its absence， cannot think of itself not thinking， the coldest of voids。” 。。。more
Melanie
，
I loved the writing style and the vivid portrait of a family in decline。 The end was somewhat unsatisfactory。
Paige Newman
，
This book is basically a morality tale about what happens when you don't keep a deathbed promise。 It's also a fascinating look at a changing South Africa。 I wasn't always quite sure what kept one of the promise breakers from being punished。 There was a bit of chosen helplessness on her part。 This book is basically a morality tale about what happens when you don't keep a deathbed promise。 It's also a fascinating look at a changing South Africa。 I wasn't always quite sure what kept one of the promise breakers from being punished。 There was a bit of chosen helplessness on her part。 。。。more
Jack
，
I found the start a little slow but afterwards it was great。Every sentence reads like a Phoebe Bridgers lyric。
Amy Rhodes
，
This is why literary prizes are essential。 There is no way I would have come to this book if it were not for the Booker but so glad I did。 Moving， sad， original。。。highly recommended。
Marvin
，
I can see why this appealed to professional reviewers and the Booker Prize Committee， but it held only modest appeal for me。 It’s the story of a dysfunctional family in a dysfunctional country （South Africa）。 We are plopped down into the family’s story every decade or so， beginning when the mother dies， then the father， then the middle sister， then the eldest， a son who was 19 when the mother died （the youngest daughter， Amor， was 13 then）。 The thread that links the episodes （besides the loose f I can see why this appealed to professional reviewers and the Booker Prize Committee， but it held only modest appeal for me。 It’s the story of a dysfunctional family in a dysfunctional country （South Africa）。 We are plopped down into the family’s story every decade or so， beginning when the mother dies， then the father， then the middle sister， then the eldest， a son who was 19 when the mother died （the youngest daughter， Amor， was 13 then）。 The thread that links the episodes （besides the loose family ties）: As her mother lies dying while apartheid is still in force， Amor hears–or think she hears–her mother make her father promise to sign over rights to the house the longstanding family’s housekeeper and caretaker lives in on the property’s boundary; Amor renews her campaign to see that promise fulfilled after each death in the family。 （The other members of the family view her as odd and irrational， attributing that to an incident when she was struck by lightning as a young child。） The story is told in a unique voice in long， rambling chapters with clever transitions or， alternatively， sudden， transitionless leaps。 （Writers rarely bother with transitions any more; they just insert section breaks every few pages。） 。。。more
Victor Saville
，
purely and utterly consistent story which flows and is intertwined into my psyche。 Magnificently written。 A pure joy to enjoy from the first word to the last and every word in between。 the written word is alive and well。 thank you
Alex Davidson
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Interesting format with a plot centred around 4 different funerals within the same family。 Poetic at times and taps into the transition of South Africa away from apartheid。 Not my favourite Booker prize winning book。
Ad_Hendrick
，
I was intrigued by The Promise from the blurb， reviews but also that it was the 2021 Booker Prize winner， however it was so disappointing。 The writing felt disjointed and it took me a while to get into。 There was virtually no dialogue between the characters， and it felt that it was narrated the entire time。 I did enjoy the first half of the chapter on Astrid。 I think this novel had a really important message and story to tell， but it wasn’t executed properly and I didn’t feel that it was somethi I was intrigued by The Promise from the blurb， reviews but also that it was the 2021 Booker Prize winner， however it was so disappointing。 The writing felt disjointed and it took me a while to get into。 There was virtually no dialogue between the characters， and it felt that it was narrated the entire time。 I did enjoy the first half of the chapter on Astrid。 I think this novel had a really important message and story to tell， but it wasn’t executed properly and I didn’t feel that it was something that deeply affected the family， as the blurb read it to。 There were also parts that just didn’t make sense - such as Anton’s death。 I also think that shorter chapters would have been far more effective！ Can’t say that I really enjoyed this one enough to recommend。 。。。more
Ryan
，
This is an Olympian making their sport look easy。 This engrossing tale of the domestic unraveling of a white family in South Africa could have been taken on from so many angles but Galut chose the most innovative route。 Head hopping from female housekeepers to boisterousness siblings， to priests， to a homeless man that sees aliens attached to everyone - with no page breaks or even pauses somehow worked perfectly。 Deep and soulful exploration of life explored with technical and creative perfectio This is an Olympian making their sport look easy。 This engrossing tale of the domestic unraveling of a white family in South Africa could have been taken on from so many angles but Galut chose the most innovative route。 Head hopping from female housekeepers to boisterousness siblings， to priests， to a homeless man that sees aliens attached to everyone - with no page breaks or even pauses somehow worked perfectly。 Deep and soulful exploration of life explored with technical and creative perfection。 。。。more
Jack Kennedy
，
A worthy Booker winner， in my humble opinion。
Berit Sluyters
，
Mooi boek over de teloorgang van een witte familie in Zuid-Afrika， met de naam Swart （！）。 Elk hoofdstuk behandelt een sterfgeval in de familie， waardoor men samenkomt。 Herinneringen wellen op en oude conflicten herleven， waaronder één bijzonder conflict: jongste dochter Amor wil de belofte van haar moeder nakomen om zwarte werkster Salome het huisje waar ze woont na te laten。 Haar familieleden denken daar anders over。 Uiteindelijk lijkt het te lukken， in een soort verzoening， maar beide partijen Mooi boek over de teloorgang van een witte familie in Zuid-Afrika， met de naam Swart （！）。 Elk hoofdstuk behandelt een sterfgeval in de familie， waardoor men samenkomt。 Herinneringen wellen op en oude conflicten herleven， waaronder één bijzonder conflict: jongste dochter Amor wil de belofte van haar moeder nakomen om zwarte werkster Salome het huisje waar ze woont na te laten。 Haar familieleden denken daar anders over。 Uiteindelijk lijkt het te lukken， in een soort verzoening， maar beide partijen worden er niet gelukkiger van。 De parallellen met de geschiedenis van Zuid-Afrika liggen voor de hand。 Vooral de stijl spreekt me aan: de verteller hanteert als het ware een camera， neemt een personage in beeld en vertelt， maar springt net zo makkelijk weer over naar een ander personage。 Zonder witregels， als het leven zelf。 De stijl is prachtig， mooi Engels zonder opsmuk en af en toe een Afrikaans woord als ‘baas’ en ‘veld’。 Rachel en Manie hebben 3 kinderen: Anton， Astrid en Amor， triple A maar ze maken hun potentie niet waar。 De sterfgevallen zijn best gruwelijk， respectievelijk: kanker， een slangenbeet， zelfmoord in dronken toestand， en Astrid wordt beroofd en vermoord。 Amor overleeft iedereen en kan daardoor 31 jaar na dato haar moeders belofte waarmaken。 Een beetje apart is ze wel， maar ja， ze is dan ook als kind door de bliksem getroffen。 。。。more
Kim
，
This didn't work for me， I quit halfway through。 I don't ever remember reading a book before this that was so overtly and emphatically male-written。 The author understands nothing about women's experiences and clearly hasn't bothered to research them before writing female characters （hint: a woman's period doesn't stop flowing when she squeezes her thighs together！！）。 The shifting POV was confusing - third person， then first， then third again， and from character to character， but with each chara This didn't work for me， I quit halfway through。 I don't ever remember reading a book before this that was so overtly and emphatically male-written。 The author understands nothing about women's experiences and clearly hasn't bothered to research them before writing female characters （hint: a woman's period doesn't stop flowing when she squeezes her thighs together！！）。 The shifting POV was confusing - third person， then first， then third again， and from character to character， but with each character not written convincingly enough that you could actually tell who was who。 It took too much effort to read than the story was worthy of。 。。。more
James Carpenter
，
literature at its bestAn extraordinary book。 Deeply nuanced。 Galgut exposes the narrator’s art at is most visceral， portraying life through the inevitability of death。
mel
，
Winner of The 2021 Booker Prize
Loraine
，
Perfect！ The tale of a farm family that disintegrates as the new South Africa integrates。 This multi leveled novel is a masterpiece and well deserved of the Booker Prize。
Lindsey
，
This book was written in such a compelling style。 The prose really drew me in; it felt like such a personal， close narration。 At the same time， it would often make unexpected shifts in perspective or point of view。 They were disarming in a good way and kept me always wondering what was going to happen next。 The only hangup I had was that I didn’t feel particularly close to the character I assumed was the main character， Amor。 She really felt like a ghost in the narrative; I would have liked to g This book was written in such a compelling style。 The prose really drew me in; it felt like such a personal， close narration。 At the same time， it would often make unexpected shifts in perspective or point of view。 They were disarming in a good way and kept me always wondering what was going to happen next。 The only hangup I had was that I didn’t feel particularly close to the character I assumed was the main character， Amor。 She really felt like a ghost in the narrative; I would have liked to get to know her more and better understand her motivations。 。。。more
April Lane
，
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫“The Promise” was a strange book， and I have mixed feelings regarding my overall reading experience。 The main characters were not exactly likeable， save for Amor - to a degree， but even she was lacking in development。 At first I was just annoyed by the strange writing style， many confusing POVs， lack of dialogue punctuation， etc。 However， I began to appreciate the humour， sarcasm， and even a hint of supernatural elements thrown in。 Strangely enough I started to see the flawed， messy， horr ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫“The Promise” was a strange book， and I have mixed feelings regarding my overall reading experience。 The main characters were not exactly likeable， save for Amor - to a degree， but even she was lacking in development。 At first I was just annoyed by the strange writing style， many confusing POVs， lack of dialogue punctuation， etc。 However， I began to appreciate the humour， sarcasm， and even a hint of supernatural elements thrown in。 Strangely enough I started to see the flawed， messy， horrendous nature of the Swart family as human （warts and all）。 The author managed to demonstrate that everyone has their demons no matter their situation， despite the characters’ sometimes owning or ignoring their arrogance and privilege。 I can see why it won The Booker Prize， but it wasn’t my favourite read this year。 To each their own and that’s okay。 Maybe in time I’ll change my mind。 Might need to process it a little further。 For now， I’m going to finish my other read that I’m absolutely enthralled with！！ So there’s that。 😊 Happy reading！ 📚 。。。more
Toby
，
Amazing novel
Janet B
，
Interesting story set in South Africa about a white family and their relationships， and in particular the promise made by their mother。 The characters were well drawn but not very likeable and ultimately this made the book not much of a pleasure to read。
Suziethorp
，
The most singularly depressing book I can’t even finish it。 It makes me unsettled I dislike the white South Africans so much it feels like a hit job。 Just a big no from me。
Lesley Meadows
，
Exceptional！ A worthy Booker winner
Kaitlin Orr
，
Yeah， not a fan。 Of the subject matter nor the writing style。 Lots of death and depressing content。 And the writing was so difficult to follow， each paragraph could have been a new chapter。 Impossible to keep up
Kristin Corbett
，
I really appreciated the character studies in this book but felt disappointed at how much the reader misses out on。 The structure， each part is a funeral， is unique but leaves huge gaps in the characters’ lives that probably seem more I retesting than they are because it all happens “offscreen。” It is obviously a morbid book but also a bit silly and crude at times。 One aspect I found odd is that the two most important characters to the thin plot are the least fleshed out。 Overall， a very interes I really appreciated the character studies in this book but felt disappointed at how much the reader misses out on。 The structure， each part is a funeral， is unique but leaves huge gaps in the characters’ lives that probably seem more I retesting than they are because it all happens “offscreen。” It is obviously a morbid book but also a bit silly and crude at times。 One aspect I found odd is that the two most important characters to the thin plot are the least fleshed out。 Overall， a very interesting read， especially considering the historical context， but not the most enjoyable。 。。。more
Ann Trask
，
This is a hard book to rate with the star system--from a literary perspective， it is a 5。。。。。。so many layers of meaning; so many interpretations and representations of a complex， dark and difficult time in South Africa。 Should be taught in college literature classes！！ Ripe for discussions。 But from an enjoyment perspective？ Not so much。 The dreaded "unlikable characters"， lack of redemption， and failure to explain many things。 Nothing good happens。 For anyone。 This is a hard book to rate with the star system--from a literary perspective， it is a 5。。。。。。so many layers of meaning; so many interpretations and representations of a complex， dark and difficult time in South Africa。 Should be taught in college literature classes！！ Ripe for discussions。 But from an enjoyment perspective？ Not so much。 The dreaded "unlikable characters"， lack of redemption， and failure to explain many things。 Nothing good happens。 For anyone。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Promise
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Promise&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Promise&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0