IN LOVE'S PLACE

IN LOVE'S PLACE intertwines two main stories in a stunning ensemble piece Christian, a city slicker, drug-addled and paranoid and fast losing control of his life; his damaged, secretive wife; an old colonial hotel and a flock of highly-prized homing pigeons; an eccentric German violin teacher and her talented young pupil. And a violin, lost then found, which becomes the lynch-pin to the entire novel, connecting Christian's family with the colourful characters who work in the Lord Milner Hotel in Matjiesfontein, on the edge of the Great Karoo. The novel opens with a high-octane introduction to Christian's chaotic life: with a secret but escalating drug problem, made all the more problematic by his recent quadruple heart bypass, he is shaken by a terrifying encounter on the highway from Cape Town airport. Has he become the random target for a vicious gang initiation ritual, or is he just being paranoid? But then why does the sinister car keep reappearing? At the same time, the closely-knit local community at the Lord Milner Hotel are eagerly anticipating the annual Southern Cross Pigeon Derby when their lives are turned upside down by the disappearance of young Snaartjie Windvogel. Was she abducted by Africans from the north, or did her music teacher fill her head with nonsense and inspire her to run away to the city? As rumours wheel and swirl like the flocks of pigeons above the windswept plains, old prejudices are exposed and secrets are revealed, as two worlds collide and the plotlines are expertly woven into one. IN LOVE'S PLACE is vivid, powerful and moving. It is above all beautifully written and faultlessly translated from the original Afrikaans. Here's a taster from the reviews: ‘One of the first major works to interrogate the post-apartheid rainbow nation. ... The layers of plot overlap one another as tightly as artichoke leaves. But in the hands of a master plotter, they never get tangled or confused. IN LOVE's PLACE is, above all, an engrossing read. As you begin to sense the strands that link the characters together, you will turn the pages faster to find out how their destinies intersect.' - Fiona Snyckers, The Times (SA) 'Upon reading this masterpiece in Afrikaans, this reader was under the spell of his command of language... this English version never loses the rhythm and lilt of the original.' Renee Conradie, Pretoria News 'Van Heerden is masterful in his weaving together of his locales and what they represent... Stellenbosch converges with Matjiesfontein and all the seemingly loose elements are gathered into what becomes a formidable symphony.' - Ken Barris, Cape Times 'Etienne van Heerden is a potent commentator on the contemporary South African condition and is rightly regarded as one of South Africa's foremost novelists. ... There are moments when IN LOVE'S PLACE has the pace of a thriller, but it is much more than that.' – Margaret van Klemperer, The Witness Etienne is Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Cape Town and founder of the multi-lingual online literary journal LitNet. See more, including fuller reviews, photos of setting and information on his forthcoming book, on his website. Etienne van Heerden is one of South Africa's most acclaimed writers, yet it's more than a decade since HarperCollins published THE LONG SILENCE OF MARIO SALVIATI in the US. With Penguin South Africa having won a heated auction for his novels, including re-issuing his full backlist again, the time is ripe for a strong launch of his brilliant books outside South Africa. We'd be happy to send you other titles, including THIRTY NIGHTS IN AMSTERDAM which Penguin published in 2011 to similar acclaim and which Podium published in Holla