The Syringa Tree
Pamela Gien, 2006
254 pp.
December 2008
Sometimes you fall in love when you least expect it—which is what happened to me on reading the very first pages of this wonderful book.
Imaginative, independent Elizabeth grows up in a white South African family during the final 25 years of apartheid. Only six, she is doted on by loving parents and by a houseful of black servants—especially her nanny Salamina, with whom she's deeply bonded. Through Lizzy's young eyes, we come to see the brutality of the country's racist system.
Lizzy hangs out, literally, in the thick, lush branches of the family's giant Syringa tree (related to the lilac) where she summons hundreds of friendly spirits for protection (a reminder of the symbolic wych elm in Howard's End). Gradually, the tree comes to offer shelter for the growing number of black activists who oppose apartheid. Money is exchanged, fugitives hidden, bon fires lighted, songs sung, and drums beaten, all under Lizzy's watchful, inquisitive gaze.
This is a beautifully written work—which first saw light of day as a well-regarded stage play in London and New York, before becaming a novel. Gien writes in a sure and lyrical style, capturing the rhythms of tribal speech and song, as well as the majestic beauty of the velds. My only carp is that all Afrikaans (whites of Dutch descent) are reduced to cartoonish boobs, a little over simplistic. But that's minor compared with the sheer joy with which I devoured Gien's story.
Gorgeous! Read this.
See our The Syringa Tree Reading Guide.