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Permanent Removal
Permanent Removal is a beautifully written political thriller focusing on the nature of justice, truth, betrayal, socio-political and ethical quandaries, complicity and moral agency. The novel introduces readers to a cast of players whose destinies intertwine in a particularly gruesome murder. The novel is set in apartheid South Africa and fictionalizes the events leading up to the assassination of the Cradock Four. South African security forces set up a roadblock to intercept a car near the city of Port Elizabeth. Two of the four anti-apartheid activists in the car were secretly targeted for assassination. The police abducted the four and murdered them in cold blood. Their burnt bodies were found later near the Port Elizabeth suburb of Bluewater Bay. These murders are one of apartheid’s murkiest episodes. On the day of the funeral of the Cradock Four, President PW Botha declared a State of Emergency. It was the beginning of the end.
252 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2016
7 people want to read
About the author
Alan S. Cowell
12 books9 followersALAN S. COWELL is a British writer whose career spanned four decades as a foreign correspondent, first for Reuters and then for The New York Times. Alongside news coverage, he authored works of fiction and non-fiction, including The Terminal Spy, a definitive account of the life and death of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former KGB officer poisoned with radioactive polonium in London in 2006. His novels include Permanent Removal, set in post-apartheid South Africa. Cowell is married and lives in London.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 13, 2023
Good read for someone who is looking into learning about the assisinations of Eastern Cape’s key figures of the struggle against apartheid.
This book will provide you with some insight into the Cradock Four, Motherwell Four & Pebco Three for example. What I loved most about the book is its descriptive nature. The author does justice in painting Cape Town and the wider Western Cape for the reader. He takes you from the Atlantic Seaboard to the Garden route almost as though you were there in person with him.
This was ultimately an easy and insightful read into some of South Africa’s less talked about historical events.
This book will provide you with some insight into the Cradock Four, Motherwell Four & Pebco Three for example. What I loved most about the book is its descriptive nature. The author does justice in painting Cape Town and the wider Western Cape for the reader. He takes you from the Atlantic Seaboard to the Garden route almost as though you were there in person with him.
This was ultimately an easy and insightful read into some of South Africa’s less talked about historical events.
Displaying 1 of 1 review