{"id":544,"date":"2018-08-15T20:51:12","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T08:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/?page_id=544"},"modified":"2019-06-22T07:45:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T19:45:27","slug":"parts-unknown","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/books\/parts-unknown\/","title":{"rendered":"Parts Unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Kwela SA 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A memorably lyrical evocation of a harsh but beloved landscape; an unforgettable exploration of our oftentimes gruesome shared history in southern Africa. A gripping book. – Shaun Johnson<\/p>\n

A love letter to a brutal landscape, and the tale of one man’s defiance of inhumanity. – Harry Kalmer<\/p>\n

brilliantly traces the vicissitudes of blacks and whites enmeshed and ensnared in a tragic horror quagmire […] compelling, if unsettling reading […] humans and landscape merge in myopic mirages which enthral and entrap, so dedicated and clear are the author’s skills. – Peter Simmonds, Cape Argus<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He was twenty-four years old and had come close to dying every winter of his life. It set him apart from others who did not recognise their own vulnerability. His tunic was a size or two too big around the chest, but the yearning in his heart was bigger still. He was going to Africa.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The character in the opening paragraph is Siegfried Bock, a soldier who came to Africa to prove his mettle.\u00a0But soon he becomes disillusioned when he witnesses atrocities he cannot forget.<\/p>\n

It’s German South-West Africa, 1905 – a time of war and upheaval.<\/p>\n

Siegfried’s fate becomes intertwined with those of a couple of other people:<\/p>\n

Lisbeth L\u00f6wenstein is here to marry a man she hardly remembers, a settler who has sent money to her impoverished parents in exchange for her hand in marriage.<\/p>\n

Mordegai Guruseb escapes from a concentration camp where people are dying from deprivation. But before long his freedom is threatened once again.<\/p>\n

And then there is the failed doctor Albert Pitzer who considers himself a scientist and hopes to gather data that prove his theories. However, Alvaus Luipert, a local schoolmaster, will not stand for his arrogant assumptions and demeaning methods.<\/p>\n

Read the\u00a0review in the Cape Argus.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Buy\u00a0 Parts Unknown on Amazon<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A memorably lyrical evocation of a harsh but beloved landscape; an unforgettable exploration of our oftentimes gruesome shared history in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":165,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/544"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":741,"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/544\/revisions\/741"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zirkvandenberg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}