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Wednesday, September 08, 2021

The Promise (2021) by Damon Galgut

Damon Galgut – Movies, Bio and Lists on MUBI
South African writer Damon Galgut, will the third time be a charm for the Booker prize.
Book Review
The Promise (2021)
by Damon Galgut

   You'd have to consider The Promise by Damon Galgut a favorite for Booker shortlist status since he's already made it twice before (but never won.)  I'd say he's also a top pick for actually winning the Award- if he makes the shortlist how can they not give it to him.  So far I've read six of the Longlist titles and The Promise is certainly shortlist worthy.   Is The Promise an out-and-out winner? No, but the Booker winner criteria seems to change with each successive jury.

   It's impossible to discuss Galgut to a general audience for literary fiction without comparing him to J.M. Coetzee, specifically as a potential successor (awkward because Coetzee is still writing novels) or heir to Coetzee's legacy.  In the Booker related interview I read in the Guardian, Galgut (who must be sick to death to Coetzee comparisons to the point where it must be extremely bad form to bring it up to him) talked about his respect for Cormac McCarthy- to the point of once trying to psych himself up to knock on the door of his house when he was in New Mexico. 

  Andddd... I guess I can see that influence in The Promise though I can' entirely put aside Coetzee. Can anyone out there blame me?   I didn't love The Promise, it's one of those books that is so well drawn that it is awkward to read.  There is no experimental structure but he does manage to write the tragic history of this South African family in a way that rewards a reader who makes it to the end.   That is a sign of a good author and a good book- it makes the reader think it is one thing and then it turns out to be another. 

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