The books in this section are usually hardcover and in decent shape, though we'll sometimes offer hard-to-find books in lesser condition at a reduced price. Though we often put images of the book with their original dust jackets, the copies here won't always (or even often) have them. If that is important to you, please call ahead or say so in the order comments!
This is the story of the early maturing of a boy exposed to the rigors and cruelty of a land that can be as harsh as it is lovely. Jamie Carson is a twelve-year-old growing up on a South African farm. His life is idyllic but never dull, with horse, dog and gun, with a warm relationship with his parents, and with his friendship for Kiewiet, a black boy of his own age. But suddenly life on De Goede Hoop, the farm whose every inch Jamie loves, turns into a nightmare. A severe drought strikes the area: the sky is a merciless blue, livestock perish from lack of water, crops shrivel in the heat. One day a buffalo bull, maddened by thirst, comes off the reserve in search of water and forges a path of violence which changes Jamie's life and plunges him towards the brink of destruction.
Written with quiet simplicity, Jamie reveals the broad sweep of the land through the experiences of an adventurous boy—the sounds and frightening silences of the bush, the human qualities of the silent, proud people and the drama of their fight for survival against drought, erosion and wild animals. This is a story that sweeps the reader along, and it is all the more compelling for the clear, unsentimental manner in which Jack Bennett writes.
–from the dust jacket
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