Leonard Suransky

A rather strange mix, from the Cape Town flats, to China and Shanghai, with the unexpected insertion of Langston Hughes, in Haarlem, NYC poet in the time of McCarthyist witch hunts. Though not clarified the time period could stretch between the 1950’s and 1970’s. The background is the end of apartheid South Africa because Beth the main proponent appears before The Truth and Reconciliation commission. Her Chinese journalist friend has researched the ravages that the Cultural Revolution imposed on rural Chinese causing mass starvation on a huge scale. Why Revolution? Beth was drawn into high school anti-apartheid sabotage following her friend Kay. The book gives us a particular feel for that era’s China, where Beth serves on the SA consulate. The writing is easy and attractive. It won first prize in 2023 Sunday Times Fiction competition.