De Wildt, South Africa.
Ouma is a white doctor running her own farm in the rural backwaters. Over eighty years old, she has seen apartheid rise and fall, but treats everyone – man and woman, black and white – with the same fierce respect and hard-won wisdom.
Until the day she is found drowned in the dam on her own land.
At first, only her granddaughter suspects anything other than an accident. But as the shockwaves spread, the fractures follow – exposing family, police, and a whole community on the edge of a harsh world – that needs only a push to fall into savagery.
Ouma is a white doctor running her own farm in the rural backwaters. Over eighty years old, she has seen apartheid rise and fall, but treats everyone – man and woman, black and white – with the same fierce respect and hard-won wisdom.
Until the day she is found drowned in the dam on her own land.
At first, only her granddaughter suspects anything other than an accident. But as the shockwaves spread, the fractures follow – exposing family, police, and a whole community on the edge of a harsh world – that needs only a push to fall into savagery.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
The Savage Hour is an excellent, thoughtful book, written in a lyrical and intensely visual manner which no doubt owes something to Proctor's earlier career as a film-maker . . . This is not a crime novel, though the progress of the investigation moves the plot along, coming to a satisfying conclusion. It is a profound and deeply moving exploration of relationships, within and outside families, on and off the farm. The characters are unforgettable . . . Proctor explores them with a deft touch, presenting them as flawed but human. The Savage Hour is a superb novel that offers a fascinating picture of contemporary South Africa and a profound exploration of the human condition. I doubt that this year will bring along much to top it.
The 21st century's South African To Kill a Mockingbird
This beautifully written book, peopled with rich characters and concerned with eternal questions about love, loyalty, living and dying, may be too leisurely to make it an excellent 'crime novel'. But as a novel whose plot happens to be based on a criminal act, it is outstanding
A compelling read
An excellent, thoughtful book, written in a lyrical and intensely visual manner which no doubt owes something to Proctor's earlier career as a film-maker ... A superb novel that offers a fascinating picture of contemporary South Africa and a profound exploration of the human condition. I doubt that this year will bring along much to top it
The 21st century's South African To Kill a Mockingbird
Intense and beautifully written . . . A complex and deeply satisfying meditation on the weighty matters of being human . . . Deeply moving