Sarie

by Heinrich Böhmke

A Khoikhoi assassin, a blackmailed premier, a suicidal academic and a girl fleeing violence centuries deep. Four lives in crisis. On the same day. In the same hotel. Sarie’s memories are from 200 years ago. Confused and alone, all she wants is to return home. Bitter about the fate of his people, Apollis feels only bloodshed will restore their land and dignity. Harry, unable to overcome his past decides to save a life on the day he will die. Along their way they encounter a blackmailed politician, a terrible mother and a provocative Twitter troll. When they meet, the place that birthed them all, burns.

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2016

About the author

Heinrich Böhmke lives in Durban, South Africa.

He is a writer, investigator and father. He loves trees, bees, wind over the veld and Nguni cattle.

Reviews

[Ian Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is deeply, deeply unsatisfying.

I don't refer to the book. I refer to the act of me writing this review.

How to approach it? Some part of my brain prompts me to say that this is one of the most intelligent and robustly entertaining pieces of post-1994 South African fiction I have read. Some part of my emotional being prompts me to counter this by articulating the exasperation I feel. That exasperation is in relation to frequent forays by the author into excessive mischief, to the detriment of his narrative.

Other reviewers have reported on the plot and the scope of this book, so let me not waste time and space in summary. Perhaps I should come back to this review in a few months from now, having re-read the book, so that I can marinate my mixed reactions and be a little more responsible about this review.

I do not know the author. I know him only through his words on a page or in a few social media comments he has made. I have tried to rectify that by searching for a few sources that might help me understand the fount of his extraordinarily amusing and perspicacious talents. That search was as hopeless a task as trying to understand his fiction. The real Mr Bohmke is as elusive as Mandela's great and noble dream is proving to be.

Some commentators, mystified by Bohmke's refusal to play any politically correct game and entirely missing his wicked and cynically mischievous humour, fall into the trap of taking him at his (apparent) face value. Thus he is accused of depicting black people in this book in an unacceptable manner. Yet this is a man who has launched elaborate and scathing hoax critiques of - who? - one Heinrich Bohmke. The same man has also said of himself (Google will oblige with the source) : "I became deracinated for twenty years and approach my race and 'people' as an essentialism sort of forced upon me. I embrace being a Boer in a don't give a damn gesture. For I am not prepared to go through life as a whinnying liberal, with no biopolitical claims to the land I inhabit."

So be careful, any who think they have the measure of this man through simplistic assessments of his assumed politics.

But that delicious sense of humour - suffused with deep intelligence and healthy doses of cynical common sense - is also why this book is frustratingly imperfect. The author's many forays into political commentary about the many layers of corruption and self-seeking and obsequiousness that exist in contemporary South African social interaction are superbly subtle at one moment and brashly humorous the next, but always acutely observed and expressed with great originality. He has a superb understanding of local dialects and the lexicon of the street, and his insights into character are, on occasion, side-splittingly funny and clever.

Yet these very talents also undermine the narrative. There will doubtless be many readers who will give up even before halfway through this fable. Those who stick with it will be well rewarded, but at the same time will endure even more irritation. For the author gets waylaid by his own cynicism, and lets parts of the narrative run away for no apparent reason than that the author seems to be having fun with part of his social critique. The consequence is a loss of (let me say it, though I am conscious of the shattering conservatism that I shall be charged with) - the consequence is a loss of organic harmony in Bohmke's narrative.

I have the sense, deep down, that some concentrated weeding and further pruning by the author could turn this book into a masterpiece.

And there I must return to what I said at the outset. That last comment is deeply unsatisfying to me. I know it reeks. But it is what I feel. Maybe I shall come back in the future, after the marinade, and revise what I have said here.

[Zaheera Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted a copy of Sarie in December 2016. It was not the right time to start reading it because I had a vast booklist to get through. Finally got round to it a few days ago and so glad I waited this long because I appreciated it more.
It is hard to believe that this is Heinrich's debut novel. He writes clean, his characters are interesting and I simply love the freshness he applies to the dialogue.
The storyline unfolds in the Eastern Cape and I have not been there yet, but very eager to visit the place now.
I must admit, I have not read anything like this before - this is four different lives that come head on one fine day in a hotel.
What didn't I like about Sarie? Well, I didn't like that it ended. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I want more. Thank you for choosing me to read this story Heinrich. I am looking forward to the next one.

So, if you love pace, if you love a page turner then Sarie is definitely a book for you.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book
From Goodreads because there is just NO way I could create any summary that would do right by this book

“A Khoikhoi assassin, a blackmailed premier, a suicidal academic and a girl fleeing violence centuries deep. Four lives in crisis. On the same day. In the same hotel.

Sarie’s memories, the doctor tells her, are from 200 years ago. Confused and alone, all she wants is to return to her family. Jacqui plans to blackmail a senior politician. But Khaya stands in her way. He needs the politician to steer a deal his way.

Bitter about the fate of his people, Apollis feels he must shed blood to restore to them their land and dignity. Harry, unable to overcome his past, steps out of his comfort zone on the last day of his life.

When they meet, the place that birthed them all, burns.”

What I liked
I think what I like the most about this book is I still have NO idea how best to describe the love I have for it. Truly I am sitting here typing and rethinking everything and yet nothing I say seems to be doing it sufficient justice.
I’m gonna try though.
1. It is set in South Africa, 20 years after Apartheid, but draws on a lot of the residual racial tensions which are still present today. I love locally set books. I love seeing our lingo in print and our history sprawled across the pages in an easy to follow manner. I love that it invokes conversation.
2. There are multiple characters featured each with their own subplot, but it doesn’t feel confusing or messy. It actually reminded me of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the way each character is both on their own, but part of the bigger picture. It’s a smooth transition between each of them and there’s no doubt about
3. There is no chill with this book. Do not read it if you are not prepared to face politics, racism, mental instability and the like head or more like crash into it at high speed. This isn’t an easy read if you shy away from controversial subjects. But I am controversial and I love to think and question and ponder. So perfect!!!!
4. Ethics is a focus in this book, both professional and personal. And it dives into the question of how far one would be willing to go to further your own self above all others. Are you prepared to be as dirty and corrupt as the rest of them?
5. The beauty of unity through pain. Harry – wow. In some of our most desperately dark moments we are able to act in such a way that light is given to another.

There’s only one negative and this is more than likely a result of me losing the plot somewhere, but the ending with Apollis in the ocean confused the daylights outta me. I don’t quite get it, but I rate I may just re-read this and I’ll be tops again.

Final Thoughts
Just get it. And read it. And love it like I did. It’s awesome!


Links
http://www.heinrichbohmke.com/sarie

[Ona · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and captivating read. Despite the multiple characters and story lines, everything ties together neatly without being dragged out for too long, and never confuses the reader. Excellently researched, it gives a mere glimpse into South Africa's tumultuous history, as well as the problems that face South African's today. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

[Sian Claven · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Khoikhoi assassin, a blackmailed premier, a suicidal academic and a girl fleeing violence centuries deep. Four lives in crisis. On the same day. In the same hotel.




Sarie's memories, the doctor tells her, are from 200 years ago. Confused and alone, all she wants is to return to her family. Jacqui plans to blackmail a senior politician. But Khaya stands in her way. He needs the politician to steer a deal his way.

Bitter about the fate of his people, Apollis feels he must shed blood to restore to them their land and dignity. Harry, unable to overcome his past, steps out of his comfort zone on the last day of his life.

When they meet, the place that birthed them all, burns.

Böhmke has brought to life a wonderful South African tale that has amazing mystery; thriller and suspense aspects to it. Böhmke is a talented writer and has really captured a magical story with a lot of interesting characters.

The book itself is great quality and the printed text is easy to read.

I struggled a bit with the changing between the characters story but this is something I struggle with in most books. Although Böhmke does make a remarkable effort at making sure the characters are still easy to follow; there were some instances where I felt that the story dragged a little too long or the characters changed too soon. I felt that sometimes I was missing pieces and had to back track to see where I was.

Böhmke develops his characters and his stories well and I found that I was happy at some of the characters development and shocked at the others. Although I did find that the ending was a bit unsatisfying as I felt that there were so questions left unanswered.

Overall it was a good story that I enjoyed travelling through. It was interesting to see how the characters plots played out and it really did keep me in suspense of what could happen next – Böhmke has a very natural talent for writing plot twists.

[Toni Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Heinrich Bohmke, for sending me your book. It is fantastic to read books by other South African authors.
Sarie is very different from the stories I normally read, but it was great to read a story set in SA. I loved Heinrich's use of the South African vernacular and slang. It gave the story a very authentic feel.
I also loved its diverse and complex characters and how the different sub-plots all come together in the end.
Heinrich mixes a rare insight of the complexity of South African politics and history, with a vivid imagination and story telling. Definitely recommend.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heinrich Bohmke's debut novel is one you finish at 4am. It's a book where action is inspired by big ideas and the characters sketched in a moment of national crisis. It feels like South Africa's fate is contained in some of the scenes. Against a backdrop of casual corruption and racial antagonism inventive mavericks try to survive the madness.

It is twenty years after democracy was won in South Africa and the place seethes with racial resentments as much as it glows with simple kindness. Four people, each marked in some way by a violent society, arrive separately at a seaside hotel. A down and out woman comes to blackmail a provincial governor. The governor's assistant puts the final touch on a deal that will earn him a handsome kickback. An academic gives a final lecture before his scheduled suicide. And, drawn in compelling psychological and political detail, a man who fancies himself the savior of an indigenous people, the KhoiKhoi, bashes through the hotel's doors on a murderous mission as sick as it is historically sensible.

Bringing these characters into contact is an Afrikaner waif, Sarie, floating through the hotel convinced she lived centuries before. It is clear that a reckoning awaits. The question is: who do you want to survive and why?

The book earns the high praise it has received for great dialogue. The characters too are finely drawn, funny, poignant, flawed and brave. Sarie may take the form of a political thriller but it is a novel of ideas, capturing the Geist of the rugged, tragic land in which it is set. This is a sad yet inspiring, exciting yet sociological first effort. Hope there is more to come.

[Penny de Vries · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not read the kindle edition but couldn't find the print edition.

I felt uncomfortable with the strong overtones of intolerance towards black people otherwise the plot was interesting and the writing good.