Dog Heart: A Memoir

by Breyten Breytenbach

A dramatic and dreamlike portrait details the author's memories of his homeland in Bonnievale, South Africa, where he details the ouvalk--the moons, stars, trees, and shrubs that are petrified shamans--and death dancers who change themselves into rocks, invisible to those who invade the land. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: South Africa

197 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Breyten Breytenbach was a South African writer, poet, and painter. He became internationally well-known as a dissident poet and vocal critic of South Africa under apartheid, and as a political prisoner of the National Party-led South African Government. He is also known as a founding member of the Sestigers, a dissident literary movement, and was one of the most important living poets in Afrikaans literature.

Reviews

[Marion Roux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very poetic memoir and his thoughts of growing up in the area of Bonnievale and Barrydale (Western Cape, South Africa).
I enjoyed reading of the history of the places, the townsfolk, present and past, and his escapades as a lad. But enjoyed less so the "Memory" chapters

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir of time spent in the New South Africa. Very poetic. Really brings out the attachment of the Afrikaner to the land. But so much violence

[Daisygirl825 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish. Hard to read and boring.