Book description
The last time Silas Ali encountered the Lieutenant, Silas was
locked in the back of a police van and the Lieutenant was conducting a
vicious assault on Lydia, his wife. When Silas sees him again, by
chance, twenty years later, crimes from the past erupt into the
present, splintering the Ali's fragile family life. Bitter Fruit is
the story of Silas and Lydia, their parents, friends and colleagues,
as their lives take off in unexpected directions and relationships
fracture under the weight of history. It is also the story of their
son Mickey, a student and sexual adventurer, with an enquiring mind
and a strong will. An unforgettably fine novel about a brittle family
in a dysfunctional society.
Born in 1948 Achmat Dangor grew up in a mixed race township
called Newclare. He devoted much of his life to politics, including
heading up the Kasigo Trust, which, when created, was the largest
black-led foundation in the country. Since laying down his duties as
Director of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, Dangor is giving his
full attention to his writing. His publications include Waiting for
Leila (1981), and Kafka's Curse (1997).
