The Burning Land
Published on 25. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-78689-794-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Gripping' Guardian
'Pacy and stylish' Jeremy Vine
'It was never meant to be like this. Sabotage, yes. Propaganda, yes. All of that and more - but not this. Not murder.'
South Africa has become a powder keg. Its precious land is being sold off to the highest bidders while the country's corrupt elite pocket the profits. As the dreams and hopes of its people are threatened, frustration turns to violence. With the shocking murder of one of the country's bright young hopes, the fuse is well and truly lit.
Conflict mediator Lindi and her childhood friend Kagiso find themselves in the heart of the chaos, fighting to save themselves and their country as events are set in motion that no one - least of all they - can control.
'Pacy and stylish' Jeremy Vine
'It was never meant to be like this. Sabotage, yes. Propaganda, yes. All of that and more - but not this. Not murder.'
South Africa has become a powder keg. Its precious land is being sold off to the highest bidders while the country's corrupt elite pocket the profits. As the dreams and hopes of its people are threatened, frustration turns to violence. With the shocking murder of one of the country's bright young hopes, the fuse is well and truly lit.
Conflict mediator Lindi and her childhood friend Kagiso find themselves in the heart of the chaos, fighting to save themselves and their country as events are set in motion that no one - least of all they - can control.
Reviews / Votes
A gripping tale of events spinning out of control in a country struggling to redefine itself * * Guardian * * Pacy and stylish; immensely gripping - what a read -- JEREMY VINE George Alagiah manages to give us the best of both worlds: an absorbing, pacy thriller with great political depth -- TAHMIMA ANAM Combining fast-paced plotting with Alagiah's deep knowledge of the region, The Burning Land addresses the moral issues at the heart of the rainbow nation * * Daily Mail * * Daring, jolting, prescient -- SIZWE MPOFU-WALSH A suspenseful and enlightening novel that portrays the extreme violence in the new South Africa with authority, precision of detail, and the kind of insight that makes the different factions and characters caught in the midst of the drama come vividly to life -- SHEILA KOHLER Hugely topical, harrowing, humane and beautifully-written. Don't miss this -- AMANDA CRAIG Vividly written and masterfully constructed, Alagiah's assured debut is full of suspense and sudden drama -- Author's Club Best First Novel Award As an insight into the machinations of life in a contemporary South Africa . . . it is a real eye-opener * * Bookmunch * * Praise for George Alagiah: Courageous, controversial, compassionate * * Daily Mail * *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Canongate Books
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 191 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
192 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78689-794-7 (9781786897947)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
George Alagiah
The Burning Land
Book
08/2019
Canongate Books
€38.59
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
George Alagiah was a presenter of BBC News at Six, Britain's most watched news programme. That role followed ten years as a foreign correspondent, covering the 9/11 attacks on New York, the genocide in Rwanda, civil wars in Liberia, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, and Nelson Mandela's presidency. He won numerous awards, including The Royal Television Society and Amnesty International among others. Before the BBC he worked in print journalism. In 2008 he was awarded an OBE for services to journalism. The Burning Land was shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and the Paul Torday Memorial Prize. He died in 2023.