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Thanks to Bernadette, from Holland Park Press, for providing me an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.I’m sorry it took me so long to get to read this novel, because it’s a must-read. Perhaps it’s because I’ve lived in old mining communities in the UK, but I’ve always been interested in the mining industry, or rather, in the conditions of the workers throughout history, but I am no scholar and have no knowledge of the South African mining communities. Let me tell you that thi...
After enjoyed "An Island" by the same author, Bernadette at Holland Park Press recommended me to read this title as well.It is an insightful, atmospheric novel. As I'm not familiar with the history of mining in South Africa, the story gets me thinking and imagining each character and the scenery around them. Even though the novel takes place in 1886, it also makes me think about the recent situation, such as Marikana Massacre in 2012 (which I also learned through this book).
What a story! Richly detailed, this is one which kept me hooked from beginning to end.William Hull is a find upstanding man of principle as befits a newly appointed Magistrate to Namaqualand, a remote mining community. He soon finds out why no one else wanted to take up the position; the area is bleak and depressing and very much in the grip of the mining company and their Superintendent, Townsend. The workers are made up of a very mixed and diverse group and one of the labourers, Molefi Noki is...
Upturned earth is set in 1886 in Namaqualand, the copper mining district of what was then Cape Colony. It’s an arid region crossing the South African-Nambian border, with its largest town being Springbok (Springbokfontein at the time of the novel). The novel commences with the arrival by boat from Cape Town of 28-year-old William Hull, who is due to take over as magistrate. On first appearances, Hull seems almost like an antihero:"Weak-willed, forgetful, Hull was a poor employee. He did as he wa...
https://thebookloversboudoir.wordpres...I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to read this book but it intrigued me which is always a good place to start. The town where I grew up was once a mining village though the mines were long closed before I was born but the village is very proud of its ancestors so I have a bit of a soft spot for miners and mining villages. Of course, I know nothing of mining in South Africa so this book really opened my eyes. I enjoyed the author’s note which expl...
This story is set in the copper mining district of the Cape Colony in the Namaqualand, South Africa in 1886. I knew nothing about the mining communities in South Africa so was really eager to learn something completely new.There are two narratives throughout the book. The first is that of William Hull who arrives at the town to become the new magistrate. The town, he soon notices, seems to be run by the Cape Copper Mining Company. The other viewpoint is that of native Noki, who works in the mine...
Set in 1886 in Namaqualand, the copper mining district of the Cape Colony, Upturned Earth opens with the arrival of William Hull, who is due to take over as magistrate. He soon finds out that his is a job no one else wanted: it is a thankless task, beset by the difficulty of working in a town which is unofficially run by the Cape Copper Mining Company. At the head of the CCMC in Okiep is superintendent Townsend, whose grip on the town borders on tyrannical. Jennings very cleverly sets up the ope...
A story of putting profit before people in copper mining in South Africa in the 1850s with echoes of our current times.Full review: https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post...
My review of this book should be published by the Sunday Times soon, but just to say that this was a beautifully written book and is well worth reading.
~Six days he had suffered this sickness, or perhaps five. He did not know. He longed for land and the steady earth beneath his feet. Dirt or rock or sand. It didn't matter which.~~Don't be a fool. Out there there is no Queen, only a King, and that King is the Company. You'll do as you're told, boy. Out here all bodies bow to the kind.~~She had come to the mine one afternoon to ask the man for money, whispering to him as she drew him aside that their children were starving while he spent all his
