The Magistrate comes to the farm in a remote area of South Africa to investigate the death of a young boy that fell into a drilling hole. As he investigates and learns about the past and current generations of farmers, from the farms founder to the current inhabitants of the land, both in the core family and the illegitimate or scorned family branches, he paints a picture of life in rural South Africa at the time and how parental expectations and individual characters clashed and resulted in a complex environment full of resentment, racial and social separations.
I liked the way the past generations were present in the story by way of their spirits. Each of them in turn was present at the site of the young boy's death and in showing up, lets us in on some of his history. As we learn what happened that day, the event is put into the context of the family history. ( )

A child has died under mysterious circumstances on a rural Afrikans farm inhabited by two branches of the same family, the "legitimate" branch and the "dark" branch. A lonely magistrate is dispatched to investigate and rule on the death. He interviews various family members, each of whom relates his or her version of the facts. Secrets and unresolved issues from the past are exposed. There is even a little magical realism, as some of the narrators are ancestors long deceased. (However, I don't think the magical realism aspect of the book is prominent enough to discourage those who don't care for the genre to decline to read this book. Highly recommended.

4 stars ( )

Group C