Description
Book SynopsisIn her garden, ensconced in the lush vegetation of the Western Cape, Clare Wald, world-renowned author, mother, critic, takes up her pen and confronts her life. Sam Leroux has returned to South Africa to embark upon a project that will establish his reputation - he is to write Clare''s biography. But how honest is she prepared to be? Was she complicit in crimes lurking in South Africa''s past; is she an accomplice or a victim? Are her crimes against her family real or imagined? In the stories she weaves and the truth just below the surface of her shimmering prose, lie Sam''s own ghosts.
Trade ReviewAbsolution is a bold calling card from a major new writer
* Independent on Sunday, 'Books of the Year' *
Patrick Flanery is an exceptionally gifted novelist, and he is just getting started -- Philip Gourevitch * New Yorker *
Flanery's portrayal of South Africa is explosively powerful... An exceptionally intelligent, multi-layered novel encompassing politics, history, a gripping storyline and complex characters. It has absorbing depictions of grief, guilt, parenthood and sibling rivalry, and is beautifully written... Absolution is an exceptional book. * Independent *
A taut literary thriller set in South Africa... A very clever, beautifully written book where the reader is constantly adjusting to nothing being as it seems. * Daily Mail *
Compelling... At times, Flanery's prose evokes Graham Greene... A literary thriller whose writing is consistently first class. * Observer *
Gripping... The prose surges with enjoyable debate about the slipperiness of truth, the nature of forgiveness... Impressive * Sunday Telegraph *
