Never, Never and Never Again by K.M. Breakey
Description:
Audrey is a starry-eyed Brit, Pieter a tenth-generation Afrikaner. At the height of Apartheid, they fall in love. A life of splendour awaits, but the country is shifting underfoot. The winds of change fan revolution, and Michael Manzulu's rage boils. He is hungry, and will risk everything to destroy his oppressor.
When white rule gives way, trepidation is tempered by precarious optimism. Mandela will make the miracle happen. Or not. Twenty-three years on, South Africa has suffered unprecedented decline. The country unravels and fear is pervasive. Fear of persecution, land seizure, slaughter. Pieter and Audrey march on. They navigate the perpetual threat. They pray the wrath will not strike their home.
Recently, voices of protest cry out, none louder than the bombastic scholar, Kaspar Coetzer. World leaders cautiously take note, but will they take action? More importantly, can they?
Never, Never and Never Again is a story of vengeance, greed and corruption. A story the world ignores, but a story that must be told...before it's too late.
My Review:
Never, Never and Never Again is the latest controversial read from K.M Breakey, told from the perspectives of multiple individuals spanning at least two generations in South Africa, from the final years of Apartheid through present day.
The author doesn’t hold back, delving fully into each of the characters, making them incredibly real and believable, both the good and the bad. It’s hard to tell where the voice of the author ends and the voice of the people in the story begins. It’s uncanny, and it’s one of the things I most enjoyed about this book.
Adding to that, I am impressed by the level of historical detail. The book swaps between history lesson and story, weaving reality and fiction together in a believable, disturbing, and dramatic way that entertains and teaches, all at the same time.
One thing I don’t like, though it’s linked to what I do like about the reality of the characters, is when the main White characters go into lengthy discussions about the awesomeness of Trump and how he’s the only one telling the truth, and that the media is only supporting the liberal point of view (worded much more harshly in the story). As someone who happens to hold some of the liberal values dear, it isn’t easy hearing this side of things. But I do get one thing, interference in another country’s path, even with good intentions, is a dangerous and delicate thing.
There’s a theme in this book that White people are under attack on a global scale with comparisons to other groups of people in the past who’ve found themselves disenfranchised and without a home or support. I truly hope that the predictions of this book don’t come true, and I’m not so jaded as to think that freeing one race should mean the downfall of another (an idea that comes through from the pages of this book), but there are some horrifying glimmers of truth in some of the things that happen in real life, things people say and espouse to believe, and this story weaves them right in, feeding that discomfort.
This is not a light read, but it is a fascinating one. There is a good chance that reading it will offend. Having read the author’s other books, I very much expected it would before I started, but also that I would learn something.
I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to folks who are into stories featuring racial tension, social commentary, and even a touch of love story and family dynamics.
I received a review copy of this book from the author.
About the Author:
He has also published Creator Class and The World Clicks. To learn more, visit kmbreakey.com.
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