Ivory From Paradise
Published by Chicago Review Press
“A beautifully realized exposition of family, myth, the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and of apartheid itself.”—Shelf Awareness
Helga Divin, matriarch of a prominent white family from Durban, South Africa, lies dying in the London mansion of her second husband, industrialist Arnold Miro. Her children, Danny and Bridget, rush to her side. The pair soon realize that Arnold plans to steal a collection of African artifacts their late father spent a lifetime assembling, including majestic ivory tusks whose provenance traces to the legendary king Shaka Zulu. To Danny and Bridget, the tusks have personal meaning and great historic value. When the siblings move to thwart Arnold, they find themselves facing the layers of myth surrounding their family under apartheid. Returning to Durban, amid the turbulence of contemporary South Africa reinventing itself as a multi-racial democracy, Danny and Bridget discover that what they have always believed about themselves is as fragile and suspect as the stories they once accepted as truth.
“Schmahmann handily portrays the cruelty of apartheid . . . What distinguishes his take on the subject is an insistent focus on aspects of race-relations far more complicated than egregious discrimination.” —Miami Herald
“An entrancing literary effort drawn from authentic characters and settings.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[H]aunting. . . . [A] sad, revisionist book about the moment we realize that our paradise was in reality far from an idyll.” —Publishers Weekly
“[A] rich and arresting tale of human need and national rebirth.” —Tampa Bay Online
“Sure to spark discussion, the novel vividly evokes white culture in South Africa, past and present, and the myths it has engendered.” —Booklist
Helga Divin, matriarch of a prominent white family from Durban, South Africa, lies dying in the London mansion of her second husband, industrialist Arnold Miro. Her children, Danny and Bridget, rush to her side. The pair soon realize that Arnold plans to steal a collection of African artifacts their late father spent a lifetime assembling, including majestic ivory tusks whose provenance traces to the legendary king Shaka Zulu. To Danny and Bridget, the tusks have personal meaning and great historic value. When the siblings move to thwart Arnold, they find themselves facing the layers of myth surrounding their family under apartheid. Returning to Durban, amid the turbulence of contemporary South Africa reinventing itself as a multi-racial democracy, Danny and Bridget discover that what they have always believed about themselves is as fragile and suspect as the stories they once accepted as truth.
“Schmahmann handily portrays the cruelty of apartheid . . . What distinguishes his take on the subject is an insistent focus on aspects of race-relations far more complicated than egregious discrimination.” —Miami Herald
“An entrancing literary effort drawn from authentic characters and settings.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[H]aunting. . . . [A] sad, revisionist book about the moment we realize that our paradise was in reality far from an idyll.” —Publishers Weekly
“[A] rich and arresting tale of human need and national rebirth.” —Tampa Bay Online
“Sure to spark discussion, the novel vividly evokes white culture in South Africa, past and present, and the myths it has engendered.” —Booklist
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