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Tribe
It is Ibiza 1997 and rave culture is at its peak. A period of dancing and hedonism forges an unbreakable bond between six friends: an unshakeable tribe is formed.
Sharing a deep connection, their dependence on one another will intensify over the years, until one member’s flirtation with death shatters their group.
Twelve years on, the tribe reunites for an intense and claustrophobic week at a luxury game lodge in South Africa.
As each of the friends battle to come to terms with their present and their shared past, old resentments come to the fore, exposing guilt, and respinning their complicated web of relationships.
Rahla Xenopoulos’s Tribe is a compelling story of friendships, loves and lives. Exhilarating and potent, Tribe navigates the fault lines of human connections in search of common ground.
“Composed of musical dialogue and discordant truths, Tribe is a startling, witty ballad on the difference between privilege and freedom.” – Diane Awerbuck, author of Gardening at Night and Home Remedies
Sharing a deep connection, their dependence on one another will intensify over the years, until one member’s flirtation with death shatters their group.
Twelve years on, the tribe reunites for an intense and claustrophobic week at a luxury game lodge in South Africa.
As each of the friends battle to come to terms with their present and their shared past, old resentments come to the fore, exposing guilt, and respinning their complicated web of relationships.
Rahla Xenopoulos’s Tribe is a compelling story of friendships, loves and lives. Exhilarating and potent, Tribe navigates the fault lines of human connections in search of common ground.
“Composed of musical dialogue and discordant truths, Tribe is a startling, witty ballad on the difference between privilege and freedom.” – Diane Awerbuck, author of Gardening at Night and Home Remedies
- GenresFiction
310 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
5 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Rahla Xenopoulos
4 books12 followersRahla Xenopoulos is the author of A Memoir of Love and Madness, and the novels Bubbles and Tribe. Many of her short stories have been published in magazines and in Women Flashing, Twist and Just Keep Breathing. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Cape Town.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 13, 2015
A group of friends that haven't seen each other for twelve years get together on a luxury game farm in South Africa to try and save Jude, one of their clan. Most of the tribe are wealthy, with access to the kind of privilege most of us can only dream of. Theirs was a life of excess and hedonism, but in middle age, they are facing the same demons most of us do, albeit with fewer of the financial worries. Jude and Tselane, his wife, are the only two who are middle class and struggling financially.
In spite of having the kind of wealth I can only imagine, I found each of Xenopolous' deeply flawed characters to be beautifully drawn and recognisable. Olivia, a gorgeous aging IT girl, obsesses about losing her looks and wonders what value she will have in the world once she does. She tries to limit her five year old twin boys iPad time, while being addicted to screen herself. Tselane, the daughter of a struggle hero living in exile, searches for identity while refusing to acknowledge the land of her birth. Benjy, Olivia's emasculated investment banker husband, fears the day he is fired and will no longer be able to keep Olivia in the style she is accustomed to. While these concerns may seem far away from most of us, we all worry about our finances, have had our expectations of our bodies warped by the media and who in the modern world does not struggle with addiction, whether it be drugs, yoga or social media?
Through her characters, Xenopolous taps into the zeitgeist of the developed world, a wasteful society where the gaps between the rich and the poor are growing. She questions privilege, and asks what responsibility, if any, those with it have towards the less fortunate. She asks the reader to examine the things we value and consider whether the way we are living is the way we want to live. And she comes at it from all sides. All this, however, is wrapped up in an absorbing read about a group of fallible people whose love for each other has the power to both destroy and save them. It's a book you can kick back and relax with while having your mind tweaked. It reminded me of Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children. I read it too quickly, while trying to slow down because I didn't want it to end.
In spite of having the kind of wealth I can only imagine, I found each of Xenopolous' deeply flawed characters to be beautifully drawn and recognisable. Olivia, a gorgeous aging IT girl, obsesses about losing her looks and wonders what value she will have in the world once she does. She tries to limit her five year old twin boys iPad time, while being addicted to screen herself. Tselane, the daughter of a struggle hero living in exile, searches for identity while refusing to acknowledge the land of her birth. Benjy, Olivia's emasculated investment banker husband, fears the day he is fired and will no longer be able to keep Olivia in the style she is accustomed to. While these concerns may seem far away from most of us, we all worry about our finances, have had our expectations of our bodies warped by the media and who in the modern world does not struggle with addiction, whether it be drugs, yoga or social media?
Through her characters, Xenopolous taps into the zeitgeist of the developed world, a wasteful society where the gaps between the rich and the poor are growing. She questions privilege, and asks what responsibility, if any, those with it have towards the less fortunate. She asks the reader to examine the things we value and consider whether the way we are living is the way we want to live. And she comes at it from all sides. All this, however, is wrapped up in an absorbing read about a group of fallible people whose love for each other has the power to both destroy and save them. It's a book you can kick back and relax with while having your mind tweaked. It reminded me of Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children. I read it too quickly, while trying to slow down because I didn't want it to end.
November 9, 2015
Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book.
With Tribe, Xenopoulos has produced an iconic work that defines a generation … MY generation. I can already feel myself getting quite irate at the numerous young upstarts who will undoubtedly do their damndest to claim it as the literary representative of their own generations!
The tribe in question is BENJYOLIVIAPIERREHANNESTSELANEJUDE, for they are forever intertwined, and therein lies both their destruction and their salvation. They are so tightly locked together - ‘No Trespassers Allowed’ - that they battle to come to terms with a world outside of themselves, even when they have to go out into that world and attempt to make lives for themselves and do the inevitable growing up that is a rite of passage for most people.
They’ve been apart for 12 years, and are about to reconvene at a luxury South African game lodge, thinking that they can pick up where they’ve left off, as old friends often do.
Olivia – beautiful and spoilt (and horribly shallow and most unlikeable – but that’s just my opinion) has no clue how to be a mother to her twin boys, and only knows how to spend money and remain a trophy wife to Ben. There’s so much I could say about Olivia, none of it good! She thinks she’s the glue that holds the group together, but she isn’t (again, just my opinion!). She’s controlling, overbearing, and actually quite clueless (all, as I keep saying, just my opinion!!).
Ben – is unable to be honest with Olivia about the reality of their financial situation. He’s barely holding things together and trying to maintain an outward façade of calm prosperity whilst not even being able to select his own clothes to wear each morning!
Pierre – the only one of the tribe who seems to have been able to move on and carve any sort of meaningful life for himself. He’s married to the (very young) lovely Lillie and is secure in his millionaire status. But one mention of his tribe and he is once again thrown into the turmoil of their messy confusion.
Hannes – tried to conform by getting married and settling down with his wife and child, but it didn’t work. Now he runs one of the most luxurious game lodges in the world, has a relationship with a brattish, British prince (who he can’t commit to), and can’t control his rebellious teenage daughter.
Tselane – daughter of a South African struggle hero who remains completely detached from her past and who has no roots. Her devotion to Jude has ensured that she’s denied him contact with his tribe for 12 long years and in so doing, she remains rootless.
Jude – everyone’s golden boy, but so lost and so sad. By being so broken can he bring his tribe back together and fix them all?
There’s a heady arrogance to this group that’s infectious. Like the mean girls at school, you want to be a part of this ‘in’ crowd. They’re gorgeous, even when they’re caught up in a drug-induced haze of reminiscent, melancholic regret – and that’s in the beginning when they’re still fairly young!
You’ll hate them, and then you’ll hate yourself for hating them! And then you’ll question everything about your own tribe; your past and your present, and who you really want to take with you into your future. There is an unexpected depth here that will keep you pondering for days after you’ve finished reading the actual book itself.
An added bonus is the haunting music score that runs throughout the book, and which is listed at the end. Yes, there have been many coming of age books written, and I’m sure there will be loads more to come, but the musical DNA that’s been woven through this particular book is what gives it its uniquely individual soul.
Let the younger generation try and claim this one for themselves. They will fail because this one is OURS. Well done Rahla Xenopoulos!
With Tribe, Xenopoulos has produced an iconic work that defines a generation … MY generation. I can already feel myself getting quite irate at the numerous young upstarts who will undoubtedly do their damndest to claim it as the literary representative of their own generations!
The tribe in question is BENJYOLIVIAPIERREHANNESTSELANEJUDE, for they are forever intertwined, and therein lies both their destruction and their salvation. They are so tightly locked together - ‘No Trespassers Allowed’ - that they battle to come to terms with a world outside of themselves, even when they have to go out into that world and attempt to make lives for themselves and do the inevitable growing up that is a rite of passage for most people.
They’ve been apart for 12 years, and are about to reconvene at a luxury South African game lodge, thinking that they can pick up where they’ve left off, as old friends often do.
Olivia – beautiful and spoilt (and horribly shallow and most unlikeable – but that’s just my opinion) has no clue how to be a mother to her twin boys, and only knows how to spend money and remain a trophy wife to Ben. There’s so much I could say about Olivia, none of it good! She thinks she’s the glue that holds the group together, but she isn’t (again, just my opinion!). She’s controlling, overbearing, and actually quite clueless (all, as I keep saying, just my opinion!!).
Ben – is unable to be honest with Olivia about the reality of their financial situation. He’s barely holding things together and trying to maintain an outward façade of calm prosperity whilst not even being able to select his own clothes to wear each morning!
Pierre – the only one of the tribe who seems to have been able to move on and carve any sort of meaningful life for himself. He’s married to the (very young) lovely Lillie and is secure in his millionaire status. But one mention of his tribe and he is once again thrown into the turmoil of their messy confusion.
Hannes – tried to conform by getting married and settling down with his wife and child, but it didn’t work. Now he runs one of the most luxurious game lodges in the world, has a relationship with a brattish, British prince (who he can’t commit to), and can’t control his rebellious teenage daughter.
Tselane – daughter of a South African struggle hero who remains completely detached from her past and who has no roots. Her devotion to Jude has ensured that she’s denied him contact with his tribe for 12 long years and in so doing, she remains rootless.
Jude – everyone’s golden boy, but so lost and so sad. By being so broken can he bring his tribe back together and fix them all?
There’s a heady arrogance to this group that’s infectious. Like the mean girls at school, you want to be a part of this ‘in’ crowd. They’re gorgeous, even when they’re caught up in a drug-induced haze of reminiscent, melancholic regret – and that’s in the beginning when they’re still fairly young!
You’ll hate them, and then you’ll hate yourself for hating them! And then you’ll question everything about your own tribe; your past and your present, and who you really want to take with you into your future. There is an unexpected depth here that will keep you pondering for days after you’ve finished reading the actual book itself.
An added bonus is the haunting music score that runs throughout the book, and which is listed at the end. Yes, there have been many coming of age books written, and I’m sure there will be loads more to come, but the musical DNA that’s been woven through this particular book is what gives it its uniquely individual soul.
Let the younger generation try and claim this one for themselves. They will fail because this one is OURS. Well done Rahla Xenopoulos!
November 3, 2015
Every once in awhile, you read a book that affects you so immensely, you have to stop and look at your life, and your past, and ask some soul-searching questions. I have, sadly, just finished reading one such book: Tribe. This read has been an emotional roller coaster ride of momentous proportions. It creeped into my core, slowly dug its claws in, and has still not let go! I have not become so emotionally attached to people in a book for as long as I can remember and now, 2 days after putting it down, it still resonates in my soul. This book had me reminiscing about years gone by, people who have come and gone in my life, lessons I have learnt and those I have not. These people had me sobbing, for my youth, for my friendships (both lost and gained), for the world we live in, for the dreams I had and for those I have lost on the journey. You have produced something remarkable Rahla. It is a piece of writing that will live with me always. Thank you for sharing this part of yourself with me.
Read
October 7, 2015- "What you get is like a crying germ..." He pauses, contemplating. "Best to wait it out then. That's what Mum says with flu - just wait it out."
- She did the smart thing; she married a Volvo. -
- Hannes wonders, as he did twelve years ago, if their quips are genuinely funny or if he's getting caught up in the hilarity of it all. -
- He watches Zac during game drives; Zac goes along but not to photograph animals. This country is raw; the people live loud and the land is confrontational. Zac photographs the reactions visitors have to South Africa. -
- The circumstances are shitty but there's an irreverent joy to hiding under a table. -
August 13, 2020
Initially, I wondered whether this would be my type of book, however, it soon grabbed me and I found it immensely readable and enjoyable. It has unexpected depth and definitely gets one questioning one’s values and whether we are happy living the way we do with our own ‘tribe’, as well as highlighting the difference between the privileged and the have-nots and what responsibilities that brings. An enjoyable light read.
July 17, 2018
Very repetitive, after the first 50 pages you pretty much have the whole book mapped out. You don't feel like you relate to any of the characters and there are no major events happening, bit of a boring read.
September 20, 2017
A new bar has been set.
November 16, 2019
Reminded me of The Interestings, only in South Africa. The multiple perspectives worked really well (something I never say), and despite some truly odd moments, I was thoroughly engaged.
June 20, 2023
everyone in this book is so unbearable it genuinely filled me with anger at parts
November 28, 2015
This is not a novel that I would recommend to anyone who is offended by strong language or graphic sex scenes. It is for a fairly mature reader who, like me, is prone to pangs of nostalgia for the hedonistic heyday of a misspent youth, without the need to physically re-live that period verbatim. I didn't identify wholly with one particular character, but I could certainly relate to various aspects in several of them. Although a completely different offering to her two previous books, readers are once again treated to Xenopoulos's lush imagery & lyrical prose. A fun, funny, highly readable read.
September 20, 2016
I always enjoy books like this one with multiple well developed characters. I also enjoyed it's music references. A good read, not entirely sure if there is a message to be had though.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews