You Will Be Safe Here

I knew nothing of South African history and was both amazed and appalled by what i read. A shocking and powerful book detailing the awful atrocities that took place in South Africa. An enlightening and depressing story but one that needs to be told. A little hard going at times but certainly worth the read.

Poignant and moving, I was gripped by this book from start to finish. Having previously lived in South Africa, and only recently returned from a visit there, I felt that this story portrayed a bleak and accurate depiction of the situation and issues prevalent (still to this day). Easily worth 5 stars.

A thought provoking and disturbing book about real situations albeit fictional characters set in two different eras in South Africa. Well written and well researched i found i was remarkably ignorant of much of the history and ergo of the brutality and inhuman treatment of certain groups. Sadly another example of humanity at its worst !

Super book which i would recommend to everyone

Racial issues in South Africa are not new topics in literature, however, the era of the second Boer War at the beginning of the 1900's is not a very common one for our generation to understand. It is glossed over in our schooling. This novel is a tale told in three segments. The first is the recounting of British interment of the Boer women and children in concentration camps in order to keep them from supporting their men who were out fighting. It follows the story of Sarah van der Watt and her son and recounts the horrors and cruelty imposed on thousands of people by the "civilized" British camps. The second segment continues about 50 years later with relatives of survivors of the camps. The final section is the story of a 16 year old, Willem, the grandson of the protagonist of the second section. He is sent to a camp school by his mother and step-father to toughen him up and make a man of him. This place ends up being very similar to the concentration camps of the early 1900's. The cycle of hatred and cruelty continues in modern days. Nothing much has been learned or changed for some groups.
Interwoven throughout this book is an underlying tale of caution regarding racism, power and abuse. It is a well researched book and one that was painful but gripping to read. I highly recommend reading it

This is a subject that I am ashamed to say I knew so very little about. Such a heartbreaking story that I couldn't put down. The connection between the past and the present was really well written and presented. Highly recommend.

A beautiful but harrowing book. Skilfully told history of the trauma in South Africa set at the turn of the last two centuries. For me, at least, I knew a little of the struggles this country went through but this novel has certainly put flesh on the bones of my understanding. Thank you Damian. Do read this book, it will both challenge and reward.

"You Will Be Safe Here" is a fascinating read, not only because it is about the Boer War concentration camps, of which history seems to have almost forgotten, but also because the story stretches convincingly across more than a century.

The first half of the book is set at the turn of the 20th century, 1901, and is about how the British Army interned Boer farmers and supporters during the war. It is written in diary form, which was strictly forbidden by the dictatorial camp authorities. At great danger to herself and her son, prisoner Sarah keeps track of what is happening as a record for her husband, who is fighting against the British.
The second half of the book is set in South Africa at the turn of the 21st century and is about the struggles of a young, gentle boy called Willem who is sent off to a training camp where they "make men out of boys".

Both stories are about struggle, about internment in different forms. People are oppressed for all the wrong reasons. It is about their survival and the cruelty of their captors.

At times this makes for difficult reading. The story is fiction, but based on fact, and inspired by the stories of war and the misplaced trust of institutions and their warped view of what is right.

Whilst the first half of this book was historically riveting, at times I found the use of Afrikaans words and dialogue confusing - kopjes, hand-uppers, khaki kaffirs, burghers. In parts this made it difficult to follow the flow of the story. However, the second half of the book, set in modern times, was beautifully written and hard to put down.

Author Damian Barr writes with passion and believability. I enjoyed this book very much.

This is a novel about South Africa and all the inherent problems associated with that country. Set in two different time periods, the Second Boer War and the present day, we follow the lives of Sarah and her 6-year old son Fred in 1901 and Willem and his family in a contemporary setting. Sarah and her son are forcibly removed from their home at Mulberry Farm and taken to a concentration camp where life is unbelievably ghastly. Willem is a quiet teenager who struggles to fit in with his peer group at school and is constantly bullied. When his mother meets a new man who thinks Willem should be toughened up, he is sent to a Training Camp which promises to turn boys into men but the reality is very different. The title of the book comes from the fact that both “institutions” promise the residents that “they will be safe there”.

An extremely powerful novel which is both frightening and informative. It is written with conviction which gave me the impression that it was very well researched. Talking to a friend of mine who grew up in South Africa and had been back recently for a visit, confirmed this and brought home to me how realistic the modern day section is, not only in terms of the physical descriptions of the location and the lifestyle which the people lead, but also in terms of their attitudes and personalities. One thing that I particularly liked was the subtle way in which the two time periods were linked. There is nothing contrived about it for the sake of creating a gripping masterpiece, just a couple of ingenious connections which were both sensitive and understated.

For me, the only negative point about the novel stemmed entirely from my own ignorance - I am ashamed to say I was confused about who belonged to which ethnic group and what their historical and current relationships were to the other groups. Once the historical background and current political context was explained to me, I became immersed in a world which I am very relieved that I am not a part of.

This is an astonishing novel on all sorts of levels and I would recommend it to anybody who either enjoys a good read or who is interested in learning more about South Africa, both past and present. Well done Damian, and thank you. I hope there are more books in the pipeline.