The Other Side of Silence
by André Brink
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Description
As a small child in a wintry Bremen, Hanna dreams about the other side of silence, the place where the wind comes from and palm trees wave in the sun. Seeing her chance to escape from years of abuse in an orphanage and in service, Hanna joins one of the shiploads of young women transported in the early years of the twentieth century to the colony of German South-West Africa to assuage the needs of the male settlers. Following atrocious punishment for daring to resist the advances of an army show more officer, she arrives in a phantasmagoric refuge in the African desert - 'prison, nunnery, brothel, shithouse, Frauenstein'. When the drunken excesses of a visiting army detachment threaten her only companion, Hanna revolts. Mounting a ragtag army of female and natives, she sets out on an epic march through the desert to take on the might of the German Reich. This apocalyptic journey through the darker regions of the soul will also reveal to her the hidden meanings of suffering, revenge, companionship, love and compassion. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
One of the best book I have read in a long time. Beautiful langue and heart breaking story about German woman who has been shipped to Africa in the beginning of 20 century to populate the continent. Life long abuse, suffering and drama leads to her setting on a journey of rivange and eagerness to set things right and be known and heard by others! Amazing book!
Het verhaal van het Duitse weesmeisje Hanna X dat in Zuid-Afrika haar geluk zoekt; een ijzingwekkend verhaal over onderdrukking en haat
Jun 22, 2010Dutch
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Author Information
94+ Works 4,908 Members
André Brink was born on May 29, 1935 in Vrede, South Africa. He studied English and Afrikaans at the University in Potchefstroom and comparative literature in Paris. He was a South African writer and educator. He became a part of a group of writers known as Die Sestigers upon returning to South Africa in the 1960s. The group aimed to broaden show more Afrikaner fiction by writing about sexual and moral matters and the failings of the traditional political system. His books included Rumors of Rain, Looking on Darkness, A Dry White Season, and States of Emergency. Some of his books were banned in South Africa. He became a professor of Afrikaans and Dutch literature at Rhodes University and professor of English at the University of Cape Town. He has received the 1980 Martin Luther King Prize, the 1980 French Prix Medicis Etranger, and the 1982 Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur. He was shortlisted for the Booker Prize twice and nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature on several occasions. He died on February 6, 2015 at the age of 79. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Hiljaisuuden tuolla puolen
- Original title
- Die andere Seite der Stille
- Original publication date
- 2002
- Important places*
- Namibië
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 823.914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 1901-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PR9369.3 .B7 .O8 — Language and Literature English English Literature English literature: Provincial, local, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 229
- Popularity
- 141,700
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.71)
- Languages
- 9 — Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian (Bokmål), Swedish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 1
