The Folly

£10.00

A vacant patch of South African veld next to the comfortable, complacent Malgas household has been taken over by a mysterious, eccentric figure with ‘a plan’. Fashioning his tools out of recycled garbage, the stranger enlists Malgas’s help in clearing the land and planning his mansion. Slowly but inevitably, the stranger’s charm and the novel’s richly inventive language draws Malgas into ‘the plan’ and he sees, feels and moves into the new building. Then, just as remorselessly, all that seemed solid begins to melt back into air.

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SKU: 9781908276704 Category: Tag:

Description

Mr and Mrs Malgas are going quietly about their lives when a mysterious squatter appears on the vacant plot next to their home. Arriving with portmanteau in hand and a head full of extraordinary ideas, the stranger at once begins to fashion tools and cutlery from old iron and rubbish. Soon he enlists Mr Malgas’s help: drawn in by the stranger’s conviction, Mr Malgas clears the land, all the while struggling to catch sight of the grand mansion that is supposedly springing up around them. His vision, however, continues to fail him – until, one day, it doesn’t.

When The Folly appeared in South Africa in 1993, with its story of the seductive and dangerous illusions language can breed, it was read as an evocative allegory of the rise and fall of apartheid. Vladislavic’s remarkable first novel is sure to strike new chords for contemporary readers.

Additional information

Weight 210 g
Dimensions 19.8 × 15 × 2.2 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback
Pages

169
Language

English
Edition
Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)
Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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