Cape of Storms: The First Life of Adamastor/a Story

by André Brink

Andre Brink has earned his place among the most important authors on the international literary scene. His profound moral vision and unique ability to bring to the surface the turbulent undercurrents of South African politics and society have been hailed by reviewers of his much acclaimed novels such as A Dry White Season and A Chain of Voices. "No one writes of Africa with more visual power than Andre Brink," wrote the Chicago Tribune in its review of his most recent work, An Act of Terror. Now, in a provocative fable, Brink probes the fateful beginnings of his country's complex cultural situation, the arrival of the first Europeans, and the tormented love affair between a young African tribal leader and a white woman left behind by the sailors. This is a journey through landscapes that are rich in magic and allusion, and emotions that are powerful, primal, and eternal. Brink's novella has its origins in an act of rescue: What, he wondered, lay behind the fragments of myth that had been handed down about the mountains of the cape? Adamastor, the Titan whose body, legend has it, formed the rocks of the Peninsula, first appears in Western literature in the sixteenth century - much about the same time as the first known contact between the seagoing European explorers and the natives of southern Africa. How, Brink asks, would that meeting have looked from the landward side? What role would the visitors take in the mythology of an utterly different culture, with its own deities, its own accumulated story? In a startlingly fresh yet familiar form, Brink takes us to the heart of the ambivalent relationships that define South Africa's modern history. Cape of Storms is a work of ribald charm, mesmerizing beauty, and resounding importance. Brink has unearthed from the sun-carved land itself the missing meaning of a myth that has waited four centuries to be invented.

Genres: Africa, Fiction, South Africa

141 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

André Philippus Brink was a South African novelist. He wrote in Afrikaans and English and was until his retirement a Professor of English Literature at the University of Cape Town.

In the 1960s, he and Breyten Breytenbach were key figures in the Afrikaans literary movement known as Die Sestigers ("The Sixty-ers"). These writers sought to use Afrikaans as a language to speak against the apartheid government, and also to bring into Afrikaans literature the influence of contemporary English and French trends. His novel Kennis van die aand (1973) was the first Afrikaans book to be banned by the South African government.

Brink's early novels were often concerned with the apartheid policy. His final works engaged new issues raised by life in postapartheid South Africa.

Reviews

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 15th Century southern Africa, a young white woman is left stranded on the shores of Cape Good Hope and found by a tribal chief, who immediately falls in love with her.
And that's basically all that happens.
I could see myself trying out another of Brink's novels in the future, as I did enjoy his sparse, earthy writing style. But that is certainly where any enjoyment of this particular book ended. I couldn't bring myself to feel any empathy for the main character, T'kama. Half the book is based simply on him trying to get the woman, Khois, to sleep with him. As soon as he first sees her lying naked on the beach, he sees her as his possession. He even has the gall to name her within the first five minutes of their meeting, as if she could not possibly have had a name or an identity before he came along. And the name he gives her translates into "woman," "khois." I would find it degrading enough to name a pet "Dog" or "Cat," but to name a baby "baby" or a child "female?"

[Rushay Booysen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this tale.It tells the story of a "white" lady who was per say captured by a khoi man.Terrible things followed the tribe since they brought this woman into their camp,the Europeans tried to kill them but they fought back and fled with the woman.In due course the lady learned to speak the language of the khoi and fell in love with the khoi man thats been courting her.I loved this read and i def need to get more books by Andre

[Maria Velkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more a story than a book. One that you don't want to leave until you have finished it late in the night. It is beautiful in its simplicity, captivating in its passion, optimistic in its sadness.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a novella that I probably wouldn’t have usually picked up for regular reading but I wanted something about Africa and to read words about a culture I know so little about. This book reads like a fable and I could never really get a sense for the main character the narrator. There’s some sex in it, but it’s more of a factual thing and not written provocatively. It’s also a sad story with no happy ending. Which, given what Europeans ended up doing in Africa, isn’t surprising.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting tale told from the point of view of South Africa's oldest inhabitants. The elegant simplicity and the parable like style of Brink's writing capture the essence of Africa. A short read that will leave the reader with a sadness at the insensitivity of white colonialism.

[Elkate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not gonna lie this was a weird one for me personally. Would not have continued except it was for a class.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nature-y, very cool but damn is there a lot of cock talk

Reminded me of Island of the Blue Dolphins! With more sex!

[Elandré · Rating 4 out of 5]

'n Goeie boek wat jou siening oor die verlede heeltemal sal laat verander, ons geskiedenis uit die perspektief van ander. Dit is 'n verhaal wat jou oor die waardes van jou voorvaders laat twyfel, maar dit is ook 'n boek wat ek op dele skreeusnaaks gevind het.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this to be an interesting take on what the native people may have looked at Europeans in Africa and how they made contact.

[James Whitmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's academically interesting, and it has plenty of heart (and other organs), but Cape of Storms is too short to really do its subject matter justice. I suppose it is a fable.

[Paula Soper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up in Jo'burg at the airport. It was quick to read. However, it is very earthy. I didn't know there were so many words for penis. I'm glad I read it; I'm glad it was short.

[Зоран Милошевски · Rating 3 out of 5]

Дејството се случува во Јужна Африка некаде во 15тиот или 16тиот век... Европски брод се закотвува близу 'ртот Добра Надеж, меѓу оние кои ќе пристапат до брегот е и една бела жена, во која ќе се заљуби локалниот племенски водич...
Исклучително богат стил на пишување.

[Rhona Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story, delicately written. Loved it! A broken love story. Note - another one I read in Afrikaans but couldn't find as such on Goodreads.

[Filipa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adamastor seen from the land, with wonder and humor. Quite interesting and innovative take on that great myth of Portuguese literature.

[Leani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remembering what a strange book this was the first time I read it, I expected to be disappointed with the re-read. Not so. Like Orgie this is an experimental and "literary" work. Unlike Orgie, I'm not sure why I like it - but I do, I really do.