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THE AFRIKANER BY ARIANNA DAGNINO
Reviewed by Ian Thomas Shaw
The Ottawa Review of Books, 4 May 2019
"It takes gumption for an author to title her novel The Afrikaner, given the connotations that spring to mind about South Africa's former ruling white minority. It takes even more daring to give human faces to characters belonging to a group that oppressed for decades tens of millions of black Africans. And yet, Arianna Dagnino navigates this issue with taste, sensitivity and exquisitely written prose.
Make no mistake—The Afrikaner does not in any way
endorse the brutal racist regime, in which Afrikaans- speaking white South Africans were the primary architects. Quite to the
contrary. What it does do is take the readers on the journey of a progressive Afrikaner woman toward her discovery of self, her group's history and new role in the rainbow society, and love."
SOMEWHERE INSIDE THE RAINBOW
Review by Alan Twigg
BC Booklook, 1 May 2020
""North Americans have gleaned a deeper awareness of South Africa through Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country, Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee. We’ve also seen Invictus or A Dry White Season or Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom about Stephen Biko, the man that Nelson Mandela described as 'the spark that lit a veld fire across South Africa.'
The Afrikaner deserves its place in that pantheon."
Download full review here:
VANCOUVER WRITER HEADS TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR NEW NOVEL
Interview with the author by Dana Gee
Vancouver Sun, 26 April 2019
Q: What was it about South Africa in the mid-90s that attracted you as a storyteller?
A: The social, cultural and political complexities of South Africa were and still are mind- bending. Trying to understand them requires intellectual honesty and historical perspective. In my book I wanted to depict the contradictions and tensions but also the thriving richness and human warmth of a country that boasts eleven official languages and acknowledges a multitude of ethnic, tribal and religious entities.
Even more than that, I wanted to explore what it means — both at an individual and collective level — to find yourself on the wrong side of history and what kind of coping behaviours you would be led to adopt once the whole world has shamed your people for their wrong doing.
THE AFRIKANER BY ARIANNA DAGNINO
Reviewed by Ian Thomas Shaw
The Ottawa Review of Books, 4 May 2019
"It takes gumption for an author to title her novel The Afrikaner, given the connotations that spring to mind about South Africa's former ruling white minority. It takes even more daring to give human faces to characters belonging to a group that oppressed for decades tens of millions of black Africans. And yet, Arianna Dagnino navigates this issue with taste, sensitivity and exquisitely written prose.
Make no mistake—The Afrikaner does not in any way
endorse the brutal racist regime, in which Afrikaans- speaking white South Africans were the primary architects. Quite to the
contrary. What it does do is take the readers on the journey of a progressive Afrikaner woman toward her discovery of self, her group's history and new role in the rainbow society, and love."
SOMEWHERE INSIDE THE RAINBOW
Review by Alan Twigg
BC Booklook, 1 May 2020
""North Americans have gleaned a deeper awareness of South Africa through Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country, Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee. We’ve also seen Invictus or A Dry White Season or Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom about Stephen Biko, the man that Nelson Mandela described as 'the spark that lit a veld fire across South Africa.'
The Afrikaner deserves its place in that pantheon."
Download full review here:
VANCOUVER WRITER HEADS TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR NEW NOVEL
Interview with the author by Dana Gee
Vancouver Sun, 26 April 2019
Q: What was it about South Africa in the mid-90s that attracted you as a storyteller?
A: The social, cultural and political complexities of South Africa were and still are mind- bending. Trying to understand them requires intellectual honesty and historical perspective. In my book I wanted to depict the contradictions and tensions but also the thriving richness and human warmth of a country that boasts eleven official languages and acknowledges a multitude of ethnic, tribal and religious entities.
Even more than that, I wanted to explore what it means — both at an individual and collective level — to find yourself on the wrong side of history and what kind of coping behaviours you would be led to adopt once the whole world has shamed your people for their wrong doing.
THE AFRIKANER (Essential Prose)
Review by Judith Reveal
New York Journal of Book, September 2019
“Arianna Dagnino is to be complimented on her storytelling ability. She describes the beauty of South Africa through the careful choice of words, providing a cultural education for her readers.”