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Kings of the Water
When Michiel Steyn returns to South Africa for his beloved mother's funeral, he has spent close to half his lifetime abroad. But neither Michiel nor those he left behind have truly come to terms with his terrible flight from the farm they called Paradise. As Michiel submits himself to the rituals of mourning and remembrance in the small town where he became a man, all that has lain undisturbed for a decade and a half is brought to light. A father's implacable fury and a brother's violent death, the betrayal of love and the ugly memory of the dying days of apartheid all come between the prodigal and forgiveness. Michiel finds that he must confront not only his grief for his mother's passing but the painful truth of his own transgressions.
- GenresSouth Africa
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 15, 2012
This fascinating and informative novel by Tanzanian-born author Merk Behr is set in the (Orange) Free State of South Africa, the country in which he was brought up and where he studied. It is set during the two days leading up to the September the 11th (2001) attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City.
The chief protagonist, Michiel Steyn, who lives with his gay partner in San Francisco, returns to Paradys Farm, his childhood home in the Orange Free State somewhere near to the River Caledon and the state of Lesotho. He has come to join the rest of his family to attend the funeral of his charismatic mother. This return to his past forces him to confront his own painful memories and dilemmas.
In writing about this, the author successfully explores a wide variety of topics relating to South Africa’s past, present, and future. He does this in an original way, mainly by describing Michiel’s reactions to those, who he had not seen for many years and with whom he shared poignant and painful memories and his discussions about these things with his American therapist, whom he began consulting in order to save his relationship with Kamil, his partner in the US.
Michiel’s multitude of feelings, memories, and experiences during his brief return home are welded together in a complex written mosaic. Frequently the author flits suddenly and without warning from one topic to another, just as actually happens in one’s own mind. The range of topics covered is enormous: from Apartheid to AIDS.
During his brief return to his home, Michiel has to confront the girl whom he once loved (and may still secretly love), her husband to whom he was also once attracted, his old father who holds him in low regard, his brother who harbours many a grudge against him, his disgrace during his military service, and the grave of his dead brother Peet. This is all handled beautifully and interwoven with a sensitive exploration of the problems and hopes of modern South Africa.
In some conversations, the author writes in Afrikaans, and then immediately follows this with a translation. For example, “‘Dis goed om die Kleinbaas weer op Paradys te sien.’ Good to see the Kleinbaas again at Paradys.” On the one hand, it helps enhance the writer’s already excellent depiction of the setting of the story. On the other hand, it seems a little superfluous. I cannot decide whether or not these bilingual inclusions are beneficial. However, this is a minor point, and does not impair the book’s excellence.
I recommend this beautifully written novel to anyone with an interest in South Africa, and the scarring effects of Apartheid on those who emerged from it.
The chief protagonist, Michiel Steyn, who lives with his gay partner in San Francisco, returns to Paradys Farm, his childhood home in the Orange Free State somewhere near to the River Caledon and the state of Lesotho. He has come to join the rest of his family to attend the funeral of his charismatic mother. This return to his past forces him to confront his own painful memories and dilemmas.
In writing about this, the author successfully explores a wide variety of topics relating to South Africa’s past, present, and future. He does this in an original way, mainly by describing Michiel’s reactions to those, who he had not seen for many years and with whom he shared poignant and painful memories and his discussions about these things with his American therapist, whom he began consulting in order to save his relationship with Kamil, his partner in the US.
Michiel’s multitude of feelings, memories, and experiences during his brief return home are welded together in a complex written mosaic. Frequently the author flits suddenly and without warning from one topic to another, just as actually happens in one’s own mind. The range of topics covered is enormous: from Apartheid to AIDS.
During his brief return to his home, Michiel has to confront the girl whom he once loved (and may still secretly love), her husband to whom he was also once attracted, his old father who holds him in low regard, his brother who harbours many a grudge against him, his disgrace during his military service, and the grave of his dead brother Peet. This is all handled beautifully and interwoven with a sensitive exploration of the problems and hopes of modern South Africa.
In some conversations, the author writes in Afrikaans, and then immediately follows this with a translation. For example, “‘Dis goed om die Kleinbaas weer op Paradys te sien.’ Good to see the Kleinbaas again at Paradys.” On the one hand, it helps enhance the writer’s already excellent depiction of the setting of the story. On the other hand, it seems a little superfluous. I cannot decide whether or not these bilingual inclusions are beneficial. However, this is a minor point, and does not impair the book’s excellence.
I recommend this beautifully written novel to anyone with an interest in South Africa, and the scarring effects of Apartheid on those who emerged from it.
April 18, 2022
Michel Steyn, living on the west coast of the USA with his gay lover, returns to the Free State farm where he grew up for his mother's funeral. During the two days he spends there, he tries to repair broken relationships from the time he left 15 years before.
This is the third of Mark Behr's novels, and I believe it is his best. Like an earlier novel, Embrace, it is set in one time, but has a series of "stream of consciousness" flashbacks to earlier times. In the course of the story, Behr refers to books by fellow author and professor of literature J.M. Coetzee, and I thought that in some ways this was the kind of book that Coetzee was trying to write, but never quite managed. Coetzee wrote several novels set in South Africa, but they never quite seemed to come into focus. Both Behr and Coetzee write about South Africa in transition, and the mixed feelings and emotions and views of people in the transition, but Behr seems to have captured them more authentically. In this Behr is more like Zakes Mda, though he lacks Mda's sense of humour.
People have difficulty in agreeing on the genre of Behr's novels. Some have compared this one to the Afrikaans plaasroman -- see, for example 'Paradys' after the Fall: Mark Behr’s Novels and the Genre of the Plaasroman. In other ways it seems like an LGBTQ novel, and certainly the G and the B are present in this one. There are also elements of several other literary genres present, but Behr seem to be playing with them, like a cook experimenting with a new recipe.
And Behr himself seems to have been mixed up like his characters. In his youth he was an anti-apartheid protester who became a government spy, and if the semi-autobiographical Embrace is anything to go by, he alternated between the G and B of LGBTQ in his own life.
This is the third of Mark Behr's novels, and I believe it is his best. Like an earlier novel, Embrace, it is set in one time, but has a series of "stream of consciousness" flashbacks to earlier times. In the course of the story, Behr refers to books by fellow author and professor of literature J.M. Coetzee, and I thought that in some ways this was the kind of book that Coetzee was trying to write, but never quite managed. Coetzee wrote several novels set in South Africa, but they never quite seemed to come into focus. Both Behr and Coetzee write about South Africa in transition, and the mixed feelings and emotions and views of people in the transition, but Behr seems to have captured them more authentically. In this Behr is more like Zakes Mda, though he lacks Mda's sense of humour.
People have difficulty in agreeing on the genre of Behr's novels. Some have compared this one to the Afrikaans plaasroman -- see, for example 'Paradys' after the Fall: Mark Behr’s Novels and the Genre of the Plaasroman. In other ways it seems like an LGBTQ novel, and certainly the G and the B are present in this one. There are also elements of several other literary genres present, but Behr seem to be playing with them, like a cook experimenting with a new recipe.
And Behr himself seems to have been mixed up like his characters. In his youth he was an anti-apartheid protester who became a government spy, and if the semi-autobiographical Embrace is anything to go by, he alternated between the G and B of LGBTQ in his own life.
May 22, 2018
The protagonist Michel returns to his hometwon in South Africa because of the death of his mother. From the beginning, his journey back through the countryside represents an opportunity to enjoy the fruitful lanscapes towards the farm of his family, beatifully displayed by the author.
Living in USA, as he meets with his past, we learn the circumstances why he fled his country. Now everything is changed. Apartheid has been finished years ago, however, the relationship between the white Afrikaneers and the black people has not improved,
His disabled father is waiting for him, their relationship never been good. Many of the black workers of the farm help him to continue his life but with the death of the mother everything becomes precaurious.
Truths about his brother Peet's death and his own departure from the country come to light when all the members of the family reunite in the farm: Benjamin, the middle son, the only who has followed the father's wishes; Karien, Michel's ex-lover, being present as an icon of teenage love; Loreto, the black girl who achieves more than what has been expected of her.
Berh portrays these complex characters under an unique light, with every flaw they have, and with the right and wrong decisions they have made, being as young as they were when Michel escaped South Africa.
With a creative use of the language, the plot surrepticiouly unfolds in front of the readers, allowing them to build the story, putting each piece in the correct place, like a jigzaw puzzle.
An intimate novel,it explores the dilemas people face when dealing with complicated family's structures, when race is a scent nobody can be ridden of, when History introduces itself and plays with the lives of those who are just trying to beat their destiny.
mail: ana.ovejero@gmail.com
instagram:ananbooks
Living in USA, as he meets with his past, we learn the circumstances why he fled his country. Now everything is changed. Apartheid has been finished years ago, however, the relationship between the white Afrikaneers and the black people has not improved,
His disabled father is waiting for him, their relationship never been good. Many of the black workers of the farm help him to continue his life but with the death of the mother everything becomes precaurious.
Truths about his brother Peet's death and his own departure from the country come to light when all the members of the family reunite in the farm: Benjamin, the middle son, the only who has followed the father's wishes; Karien, Michel's ex-lover, being present as an icon of teenage love; Loreto, the black girl who achieves more than what has been expected of her.
Berh portrays these complex characters under an unique light, with every flaw they have, and with the right and wrong decisions they have made, being as young as they were when Michel escaped South Africa.
With a creative use of the language, the plot surrepticiouly unfolds in front of the readers, allowing them to build the story, putting each piece in the correct place, like a jigzaw puzzle.
An intimate novel,it explores the dilemas people face when dealing with complicated family's structures, when race is a scent nobody can be ridden of, when History introduces itself and plays with the lives of those who are just trying to beat their destiny.
mail: ana.ovejero@gmail.com
instagram:ananbooks
February 22, 2013
I found this book sometimes hard to follow, it was ok. The main character kept falling into almost free-associative tangents of memory, I started to lose interest about halfway through.
August 5, 2025
This novel received ecstatic reviews when it was published (see: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...) and here on GR, but not from everyone on GR, and I am afraid I am amongst those less enthusiastic reviewers. The problem is that while Mr. Behr was a good writer he was also a prolix one who desperately needed the help of a good editor. With his first novel, 'The Smell of Apples' he had that and more importantly accepted his editor's blue pencil. Unfortunately the success of 'The Smell of Apples' enabled him to ignore such discipline in this, his third novel which while not like the Brobdingnagian 'Embrace', definitely lacks focus and direction.
In some ways 'Kings of the Water' is similar to 'The Smell of Apples' in its setting and its examination of a 35 year old Afrikaans man looking back to his childhood and youth when he returns home after fifteen years living abroad for his mother's funeral. But things have moved on since 1993 when he published 'The Smell of Apples' and South Africa and the world have changed. Issues have become more complex. Which is why the novel gets bogged down in so much, not simply AIDS but surviving AIDS, not just what was happening in South Africa but in Zimbabwe, also we get lengthy philosophical discussions involving Palestine, Israel, the Holocaust not to forget 9/11 which is dragged in to no great point at the novel's end. I could also mention the purple prose descriptions of landscape, in fact there is a lot I could complain about but won't enumerate. Suffice is to say that this novel lacks focus. I don't doubt that Mr. Behr had many things he wanted to say, but he ends up touching on too many subjects. The result is that much remains unexplored.
Some people loved this novel, many people have, but it was a disappointment which is why I have given two stars. Only my respect for Mr. Behr's first novels keeps me from shelving as bad-disappointing.
In some ways 'Kings of the Water' is similar to 'The Smell of Apples' in its setting and its examination of a 35 year old Afrikaans man looking back to his childhood and youth when he returns home after fifteen years living abroad for his mother's funeral. But things have moved on since 1993 when he published 'The Smell of Apples' and South Africa and the world have changed. Issues have become more complex. Which is why the novel gets bogged down in so much, not simply AIDS but surviving AIDS, not just what was happening in South Africa but in Zimbabwe, also we get lengthy philosophical discussions involving Palestine, Israel, the Holocaust not to forget 9/11 which is dragged in to no great point at the novel's end. I could also mention the purple prose descriptions of landscape, in fact there is a lot I could complain about but won't enumerate. Suffice is to say that this novel lacks focus. I don't doubt that Mr. Behr had many things he wanted to say, but he ends up touching on too many subjects. The result is that much remains unexplored.
Some people loved this novel, many people have, but it was a disappointment which is why I have given two stars. Only my respect for Mr. Behr's first novels keeps me from shelving as bad-disappointing.
March 18, 2021
Now thirty five, Michiel Steyn returns to his home and farm in South Africa after an absence of fifteen years, the occasion his mother's funeral. His sudden departure while still a conscript was surrounded in mystery and disgrace, and all but rejection by his father. Now he must face his father for the first time since then, his brother and those he loved, and those who perhaps failed him him when as a young man he sought their help.
The account spans just the two days in September 2001, but as the events of those tow days unfold we slowly learn about Michiel, the male lover Kamil he lives with in California, the girl he was involved with before his ignominious departure from South Africa, and the circumstances and cause of his leaving, the older brother whom he idolised and who died and the secrets surrounding his death, the horrors of apartheid and its lingering effects even now that so disgust him, and the difficult attempts at reconciliation with his father and others he deserted.
Kings of the Water is an intriguing, gripping and moving story that reveals much of the Afrikaners' attitude and gives an insight to life in South Africa during and since apartheid. It is beautifully written and constantly swings seamlessly from present to past, from South Africa to California, creating a unique mood of melancholy, and along the way delves deep into the minds and thinking of the diverse characters.
King of the waters is a worthy successor to Behrs' previous fine novels, and worth the delayed wait.
The account spans just the two days in September 2001, but as the events of those tow days unfold we slowly learn about Michiel, the male lover Kamil he lives with in California, the girl he was involved with before his ignominious departure from South Africa, and the circumstances and cause of his leaving, the older brother whom he idolised and who died and the secrets surrounding his death, the horrors of apartheid and its lingering effects even now that so disgust him, and the difficult attempts at reconciliation with his father and others he deserted.
Kings of the Water is an intriguing, gripping and moving story that reveals much of the Afrikaners' attitude and gives an insight to life in South Africa during and since apartheid. It is beautifully written and constantly swings seamlessly from present to past, from South Africa to California, creating a unique mood of melancholy, and along the way delves deep into the minds and thinking of the diverse characters.
King of the waters is a worthy successor to Behrs' previous fine novels, and worth the delayed wait.
October 17, 2017
A disappointment after the real triumph of Smell of Apples. Behr's first novel is very well-written, tightly constructed, with a powerful voice. Kings of the Water is poorly paced and slow -- overly descriptive without purpose. The tone is melancholy, elegiac, which fits the subject matter, but makes for a plodding read. Re-read Smell of Apples instead.
February 27, 2025
I absolutely love the story of Marnus in "The Smell of Apples".
I wanted to love this book as much as "The Smell of Apples" - but just couldn't.
I wanted to love this book as much as "The Smell of Apples" - but just couldn't.
July 21, 2011
Enjoyable but far from perfect. The story was intriguing and Michiel's emotional reactions to coming back home were plausible, but some of the characters seemed too good to be true and the reference to the World Trade Center attacks seemed gratuitous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2013
A wonderful book. Two days of a return to South Africa, full of the memories of a lifetime. Emotional, political, entangled always. One of the protagonists mentions K. Sello Duiker, the next book on my novel reading list, the Quiet Violence of Dreams
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews