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The President
A NAIL-BITING POLITICAL THRILLER ABOUT BIGOTED BACKLASH TO PROVOCATIVE ART.
When a salacious fictional story about the nation's president is published online, the ruling party and its supporters are enraged. As pressure grows for the story to be erased, its young, queer author flees into hiding, carrying with him an explosive secret - and plans for revenge.
Deftly plotted and gorgeously told, The President is partly inspired by the vicious real-life backlash to Brett Murray's painting, The Spear (which controversially depicted South Africa's then-president, Jacob Zuma). Set in South Africa in 2012, Xander Beattie's powerful debut novel is painfully relevant to our contemporary moment globally, where - in too many places - powerful demagogues scapegoat the marginalised, imperil human rights and brutally suppress artistic expression.
When a salacious fictional story about the nation's president is published online, the ruling party and its supporters are enraged. As pressure grows for the story to be erased, its young, queer author flees into hiding, carrying with him an explosive secret - and plans for revenge.
Deftly plotted and gorgeously told, The President is partly inspired by the vicious real-life backlash to Brett Murray's painting, The Spear (which controversially depicted South Africa's then-president, Jacob Zuma). Set in South Africa in 2012, Xander Beattie's powerful debut novel is painfully relevant to our contemporary moment globally, where - in too many places - powerful demagogues scapegoat the marginalised, imperil human rights and brutally suppress artistic expression.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 7, 2025
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February 21, 2026Incredible!!
I can’t believe no one else on goodreads has shelved this one
I can’t believe no one else on goodreads has shelved this one
September 20, 2026
What a story. If you are looking for hard-hitting without the grime and franticness of a crime novel, The President is right uo your alley.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews