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Permanent Removal
When an American diplomat, Thomas J Kinzer, returns to South Africa after a long absence, his experiences of bygone times soon begin to haunt him, pulling him back into the darkest days of the country’s past. As he seeks to uncover an unsolved mystery from that era – and pursues an unexpected romance – he confronts his own unsuspected role in events that changed the course of history.
Written with a journalist’s eye for detail and nuance, Permanent Removal traces the tantalising and sometimes frightening passions that inspired the nation in the battle against apartheid and in the stubborn challenges that emerged in its wake. It asks timely and disturbing questions about how South Africa became “the rainbow nation,” and what its future holds.
Alan S Cowell’s third novel carries the reader on an exhilarating journey from the sunlit beaches of the Indian Ocean coastline to a far more sinister hinterland. Set against the backdrop of Nelson Mandela’s presidency, this exciting new work of fiction explores the painful choices undertaken by many who played a part in the country’s real-life transformation – from peaceful activists seeking to join The Struggle, to the business elite who campaigned for change, to the death squad assassins who fought against it.
But this is not simply a political thriller.
As he flies to South Africa, Thomas J Kinzer, the diplomat, finds himself asking the most undiplomatic questions: “Would the mountains be lower now, the passions less intense, its objects less gilded?” The answers soon become apparent, adding one more emotional strand to Kinzer’s quest and setting him on a collision course between duty and passion.
When he meets Zoe Joubert, a glamorous writer and activist, he feels re-born – only to discover that she, too, has secrets as well-hidden as any of the riddles he is attempting to unravel.
Written with a journalist’s eye for detail and nuance, Permanent Removal traces the tantalising and sometimes frightening passions that inspired the nation in the battle against apartheid and in the stubborn challenges that emerged in its wake. It asks timely and disturbing questions about how South Africa became “the rainbow nation,” and what its future holds.
Alan S Cowell’s third novel carries the reader on an exhilarating journey from the sunlit beaches of the Indian Ocean coastline to a far more sinister hinterland. Set against the backdrop of Nelson Mandela’s presidency, this exciting new work of fiction explores the painful choices undertaken by many who played a part in the country’s real-life transformation – from peaceful activists seeking to join The Struggle, to the business elite who campaigned for change, to the death squad assassins who fought against it.
But this is not simply a political thriller.
As he flies to South Africa, Thomas J Kinzer, the diplomat, finds himself asking the most undiplomatic questions: “Would the mountains be lower now, the passions less intense, its objects less gilded?” The answers soon become apparent, adding one more emotional strand to Kinzer’s quest and setting him on a collision course between duty and passion.
When he meets Zoe Joubert, a glamorous writer and activist, he feels re-born – only to discover that she, too, has secrets as well-hidden as any of the riddles he is attempting to unravel.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
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