A South African family disintegrates in Damon Galgut’s The Promise, and this disintegration occurs concurrently with the collapse of Apartheid. This family never functions well: each of the three siblings grow up with their own particular debilitating neurosis, and collectively they learn how not to love, keep promises, or reach their potential. The ‘promise’ of the title represents a bequest to a Black character in the novel, but on the wider scale it’s the promise South African society makes...
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