An Enchanted Garden Party

The Quarry by Damon Galgut


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
From the back cover: "The Quarry is another stark, intense novel in which human nature betrays itself against the desolate backdrop of rural South Africa. It opens with a chance meeting on a lonely stretch of road, when a man picks up a hitchhiker. The driver is a minister on his way to a new congregation in an isolated village and the passenger, a fugitive from justice. When the minister realizes this and confronts his passenger overlooking an empty quarry, the response is deadly. As the fugitive and the local police chief play out a tense game of cat and mouse, Damon Galgut gives us a devastating combat for man's most prized attribute: freedom."

This was an interesting, odd and compelling read. I doubt I would have ever read it had it not been this month's book club selection at the library and I'm glad to have had the chance. ***SPOILER Possible-->***The confrontation between the minister and the passenger mentioned above is not as it seems in the books description and really surprised me!<--End possible spoiler. Very moody. Simple yet vividly descriptive. Gives such a sense of isolation and desolation. View all my reviews >>