The Covenant (Paperback)

One would think that Michener came from South Africa since he depicts that love with such purity and such passion. He also sucessfully avoided falling into the trap of taking side which, when you write on such a contreversial country, is very tempting.

You will discover South Africa and learn to love it, even if you never have set foot in Africa or never particularly cared about that region. This is how powerful this book is.

Learn to love that land through the eyes of the Nxumalos, a family of Zulus who emigrated south thousands of years ago to find food and adored the land in all of nature's expressions.

See it also through the destiny of the Van Doorns, a dutch family who, exploited through many generations by a country ran by the sense of business, returned to the fondamental values of god and the soil and made this land theirs, convinces that god granted them this new Eden.

Finally, follow the Saltwoods, A family of English noblemans who after wondering what Britain presence should be in South Africa became part of that intricate cultural web.

No race or culture is evil, history dictates what we are and will be. Passing on that book is passing on a great opportunity to understand the complex history of a country rich in emotions but also in understanding the events that led to the Appartheid and racial tensions in South Africa.

Mr. Michener, while you are there, write us an history of the paradise !!!

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Michener's "The covenant" is a history lesson without having to attend class. South Africa is the subject of this lecture. From the indigenous people, to the Dutch and posterior English colonization, and finally the heinous apartheid regime, South Africa is dissected, analyzed and explained. Once again, Michener doesn't concentrate on people, but on the land. The characters are a little stereothypical, but that's on purpose: Michener uses his characters to explain what happens in a determined historical period. What is best, Michener was able to distanciate himself from the controversial history of this country; he presents the facts, good or bad, whether caused by Afrikaner, English or Native Black people, and lets the reader judge for himself.

One other thing we have to remember: the book ends in 1979, before De Klerk increasingly opened the country to democracy, so the final chapter of the book sounds almost prophetic.

And one thing I didn't understand is that Nelson Mandela wasn't mentioned even once in the book; that's strange. Mandela hadn't yet been released from prison in 1979 and maybe didn't have the same international exposure, but he certainly had been representative as a member of the ANC in the 50s and 60s. Michener created a character that goes through the same problems as Mandela did in real life, but that's not enough to represent South Africa's first black president .

Anyway, Michener is one of my favorite authors, and his passing away should be mourned by all those who enjoy an accurate historical fiction.

Grade 9.4/10

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It's even harder for an outsider to fully fathom the bitter legacy which drove the two great tribes of southern Africa on a path towards war and reconciliation. But Michener, the consummate "citizen of the World", has again hit the nail on the head.

Michener has an unerring feel for the birth of nations. He proved it first in "Hawaii" but, for me, "The Covenenant" is his greatest accomplishment.

The story of the pioneering Afrikaners and their clash with the proud Zulu empire ranks as one of the all-time great "historical bookmarks" - and there's no one better to tell the tale.

I'm glad you came along, Mr Michener.

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