R380.00
In The Wildest Beauty, Michiel Heyns traces the lives of twin brothers Danny and Charlie Marais from their early years in Stellenbosch to their enlistment in the First World War. As Danny watches his gifted, beautiful brother with both love and resentment, the novel unfolds into an intimate portrait of family, friendship and emotional awakening against the devastation of war. Richly layered and deeply humane, it is a story of brotherhood, longing and the discovery of love amid the darkness of history.
Description
Danny Marais is the twin brother of the beautiful, talented Charlie. The Wildest Beauty is a remarkable novel, an account of their early childhood to their eventual enlistment in the First World War. From their placidly peaceful Stellenbosch schooldays to, ultimately, the battle of Delville Wood, Danny keeps a loving but half-resentful eye on his brother. Though set largely in wartime, this novel is an intimate account of a small group of friends and family, inter alia, the loving parents left behind in Stellenbosch.
And then there is Danny’s life-changing encounter, in the darkened streets of wartime London, with a wryly cynical, battle-scarred officer. In the midst of the greatest conflict in history, facing the wild beauty of ‘the abyss of unmeaning,’ Danny discovers the power of love between friends, family, and even foes.
About the author
Michiel Heyns studied at the University of Stellenbosch and Cambridge University before serving as a professor of English at the University of Stellenbosch, from 1983 until 2003. Since then, he has concentrated on his writing full-time and has won numerous awards for his reviews, translations and novels.