Penguin Books and Kalk Bay Books take pleasure in inviting you to an evening with Karen Jayes, author of For the Mercy of Water.
In a country long gripped and devastated by drought, water has become the priceless commodity over which a deadly war is being waged. In remote towns and villages, far from the safety of the city, the resistance does what it can to oppose the company whose guards ruthlessly secure and control the water supply, but each small victory merely seems like one more step towards eventual defeat. When an unexpected rain leads a group of water security guards to a town long since thought abandoned, they find an old woman, identified only as Mother, and four girls in a classroom. A journalist, two aid workers and a doctor arrive soon afterwards, and what they discover defies ordinary explanation. When strange, dislocated fragments of Mother's story appear in the media, a young writer is intrigued enough to set off on a journey to find her, a journey that will take her deep into the heart of a broken country in search of a truth that no one wants uncovered.
Karen Jayes was the winner of the 2013 Sunday Times Fiction Prize, and has been shortlisted for M-Net’s Debut Award. Karen will be in conversation with Dr Konstantin Sofianos, Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Cape Town.
Date: Thursday, 26 September 2013
Time: 18h00 for 18h30
Venue: Kalk Bay Books, Majestic Village, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay, 7975.
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Tuesday, 24 September 2013
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