The Night Country

by Bryce Courtenay, Stephen Fearnley (Illustrator)

A little boy witnesses the ugliness of apartheid.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Contemporary

87 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Arthur Bryce Courtenay, AM was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book The Power of One.

Reviews

[Jeff Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Courtenay captures a 5 year old boys view of life in South African at the back end of 'The Great Depression'. Through his eyes you witness the raw beauty of the land versus its unforgiving nature; the spirituality and beliefs of its people versus the real and brutal 'justice' delivered by the Boer settlers.

[Elsabe Retief · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a person has a way with words as illustrated in this book, it makes one feel small and insignificant.
It also makes me thankful and very, very happy.
This book gets on my best experiences of a lifetime list for sure.
On the cover the byline reads: “A story you will never forget”. How did you know?

[Susan Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took the opportunity of reading this short book as it was shelved in my library alongside all the other much longer Bryce Courtenay's books. This small book gave me the opportunity of sampling Bryce Courtenay's style without having to commit to a long read.

Courtenay writes in a descriptive way which paints a picture and this would have been appealing if the story line had been more pleasant. The story is set in Africa and is told from the point of view of a young boy. I assume Courtenay drew on his own experience of growing up in the Limpopo province to write the book. Courtenay reveals the deep prejudices that kept apartheid alive for so long and the ingrained lies that white people believed. In this the story is profoundly distressing.

Personally I found it even more upsetting that the white people's understanding of the Christian God was badly flawed.

I found it a well written but disturbing read.

[Marley Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up knowing nothing about the book. In reading it I learned the word apartheid, I knew of racial injustices in South Africa but had never read literature that addressed it and wow was I pleased I picked this up!

The story is told by a man in his 50-60s recounting his time on a farm in South Africa where he saw racial injustice, poverty, disease, cruelty, death and The Monkey Man (a witch doctor).

The first half of the story focuses on his childhood and then goes into detail of a story in which he remembers vividly that changed his life, (and now the readers) forever.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small book with colorful illustrations, giving the appearance of a children’s book. However the deeply philosophical plot and the subtlety of the language makes it most definitely an adult read. I true Courtenay fashion the narrative appears to be innocuous, but the build up to the climax and the climax itself pack an unexpected punch.

[Felgona Adhiambo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryce Courtenay is a word wizard who always delivers for me and this book was no different. Apart from a few glaring grammatical errors, The Night Country was nothing short of perfection.

Mesmerizing, poetic, brilliant.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short but well written.

[Mahrukh · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can feel your mind going to its primitive form: a time when everything had magic in it.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice use of language and imagery but not really sure of the point. Way too short to really be considered a book

[Tanya Boulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy non-fiction read. Have always loved Bryce Courtenay's books and this was no exception

[CreativelyRed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story that's sad and a quick glimpse into SA and the sadness and beautiful of a time period.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

nah yeah

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memorable Quotes

"It was the first time I'd realised that the giant in 'Jack and the Beanstalk' was an Afrikaner."

"Oupa took no notice of us just as he took no notice of his real grandchildren."

"While being beaten by the other kids encouraged me to learn a new language, it wasn't doing my confidence a lot of good."

"Life has a habit of going on."

"It is time to go to her. Only she can reach the gods now, and please them with her voice and beauty and cunning female ways..."

"For even at my age I felt a palpable guilt, a guilt of white skin and blue eyes. I felt a guilt about the way I was expected to think of the dark people around me."

"...see how it rises silver from the water, the moon over the Night Country. It is here you can come whenever you are sad, or frightened. It is here where you can re-think your courage and find the way to go and the path to take. It is here where you can meet your shades and speak to them. They are the spirits of your ancestors - they will be your guides."

“You may come back here to the Night Country whenever you wish… This place will always be yours, little white boy who has tears enough for a black man’s mourning.”

“Fear is like that; it starts in a dry mouth and it works its way down through the inside of a man and everything it touches dries up, so that finally even the soul shrivels away and a man consumed by fear is as good as dead.”

“Through the use of the pebbles, the Monkey Man had picked the two thieves, who would each lose an arm in the name of the white man’s god, a white man’s truth and a white man’s justice.”

[Caity · Rating 3 out of 5]

~A young boy and his sister are taken away to a farm while their mother suffers from malaria, and it is here that the young boy first witnesses acts of racial segregation and graphic brutality. Set in South Africa.~

I’ve only ever read one other Bryce Courtenay book before and that was ‘The Power of One’. I read it for one of my two chosen texts for a major English assignment in year 11 and it has since remained one of my favourite books.

What I loved about reading this short story was slipping so easily back into Courtenay’s style of writing. He uses such beautiful imagery and the story just flows so well that it’s a very relaxing process.

However, while I did enjoy the bulk of the story’s plot, I didn’t particularly fancy where it trailed off to at the end. I came away a little confused, but pleased all the same. To read a work of Bryce Courtenay, to me, is to sit down with an old friend. Worth your time if you’re a fan!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is described as "A little boy witnesses the ugliness of apartheid", which is as good of a description as I can give because it's a very short book and you sort of wonder where Courtenay is going with it since he has so little space. It's set in South Africa, on a farm when a boy is taken away from his mother once she comes down with malaria.

I've never read a Bryce Courtenay before but my mom was always a huge fan. This book allowed me to get a taste of his writing without having to sit down to a 1000 page book. His writing style flows very nicely which makes this book incredibly easy to digest. However, once I came to the end of the book, I wasn't really sure what I should be taking away from it.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This enchanting little biographical fable was loaned to me by a friend and I am now buying my own copy. It is a tale about sickness, being lost and displaced, the raw edge of racism and apartheid. It is also a wonderful way, through narrative, to teach people how to enter quite spaces in their hearts and minds during times of trouble. A powerful parable.

[Jesse Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Night Country is a short story about a boys experience living in South Africa. Reading about the trial performed by the Monkey Man was fascinating, but the subsequent brutality disconcerting. Very good short story.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small book of 87 pages. The story of a small orphan boy taken in by a Boer farmer in South Africa. The trial by the 'Monkey Man', witch doctor, of the native workers about the theft of a hurricane lamp and parafin was a big part of this little gem

[Melanie Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read any of Bryce Courtenay's books before, and I chose this one because of it's cover. Well, and it sounded nice.

It was quite thought provoking - quite gripping, and very powerful! I'd certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, quick, but intelligent read.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite sure what that was about... Wonderful use of language and imagery though.

[Cheryl]

A beautiful story

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet

[Lyssofcourse]

My friend was getting rid of this lovely small hardcover edition I have never read a Bruce Courtney book before, so I grabbed it

[Lisa Lingrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish more people had the opportunity to read this little gem. I bought it years ago and to date haven't the heart to part with it.

[Martin Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a lovely little book with a nice little story a must read

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, poignant and shocking. Courtenay even managed some biting humour (references to the giant from Jack & the beanstalk being my favourite). A brilliant short story.

[Miah]

i don't even know how to work this website sooo.... lol

[Olivia Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had high hopes but this low key flopped

[Valery Welsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little story. An easy read