Blake Friedmann clients Michiel Heyns and Hugh
Lewin won the fiction and non-fiction sections of the Sunday Times
Literary Awards, among South Africa's most sought-after prizes.
Michiel
Heyns won the Sunday Times Fiction Prize for LOST GROUND, having
previously featured at the Sunday Times Awards in 2007, when he was
recognised for his translation of Blake Friedmann client Marlene van
Niekerk's acclaimed Afrikaans novel, AGAAT. LOST GROUND had recently
also been awarded the Herman Charles Bosman Prize.
Hugh Lewin
accepted the 24th Alan Paton prize for his book, STONES AGAINST THE
MIRROR, which chronicles his journey to meet the former comrade who
informed on him to the South African security police in 1964, resulting
in Lewin's long jail sentence.
Prishani Naidoo, who chaired the
Alan Paton judging panel, described Lewin's memoir: "It speaks in very
moving ways to the truth of the character of experiences of friendship,
politics and life in apartheid South Africa."
For more info click here.
Praise for STONES AGAINST THE MIRROR:
'A brave and moving memoir.' -- Tymon Smith, The Sunday Times
'Written with incredible grace and insight.' -- Ivan Vladislavic
'By
writing this Hugh Lewin allows complete strangers to travel deep into
his psyche and view his truest feelings and darkest thoughts. An
interesting read that spotlights previously unknown knowledge to the
historical events in South Africa.' --Lloyd Mackenzie, The Mercury
'Hugh
Lewin's astounding new book titled STONES AGAINST THE MIRROR tells the
most touching story of two intimate friends who decide to join the fight
against apartheid in the 1960s. What the beautiful story of these two
men demonstrates is that it is still possible to find forgiveness,
healing and reconciliation before it's too late . . . This is by far the
best book written and published in 2011, and I would be very surprised
if it did not win the Alan Paton award for non-fiction in 2012.' --
Jonathan Jansen, The Times
'Hugh Lewin weaves a powerful tale, showing a master craftsman at work... a deeply moving memoir' -- Nalini Naidoo, The Witness
'This
is the book that was waiting to be written. There have been many
accounts of life in the active struggle against the apartheid regime but
this one is a fearless exploration into the deepest ground - the
personal moral ambiguity of betrayal under brutal interrogation-actual
betrayal of the writer by most trusted associate and closest friend; and
the lifetime question of whether one would have betrayed that same
friend under such circumstances, oneself. Hugh Lewin is the man to have
faced this with the courage of a fine writer. Unforgettable, invaluable
in facing now the ambiguities of our present and future' -- Nadine
Gordimer
'Lewin's STONE AGAINST THE MIRROR is a must read.' -- Isaac Ndlovu, LiNet
Praise for LOST GROUND:
Winner of Herman Charles Bosman Prize 2012
'LOST
GROUND is so much more than just great storytelling. It is Heyns's
mastery of language, his wonderful sense of place, and deftly drawn
characters that make this book superlative. I loved it.' -- Deon Meyer
'A remarkable combination of erudite and accessible. ... it will delight a very wide range of readers.' -- Maya Fowler, book.co.za.
'The
short review of this book is simply this: it's remarkable,...It's hard
to know how Michiel Heyns does it -- part magician, part juggler and
fine linguist, he presents a novel that is as mysteriously alluring, yet
as simple as the photo of some dorp street on the cover.' -- Jane
Rosenthal, Mail & Guardian
'LOST GROUND is the novel
Michiel Heyns was always going to write: one that brings together all
his many talents -a highly pedigreed writing style…, brilliantly witty
satire, a nuanced and convincing rendering of place, people and time, a
gay counter-narrative, and the type of dialogue that only a committed
eavesdropper can produce. It is, in short, the best of THE CHILDREN'S
DAY combined with the best of THE RELUCTANT PASSENGER, THE TYPEWRITER'S
TALE and BODIES POLITIC…. Without obviously "ticking boxes", Heyns knows
just how to characterise contemporary South Africa. Whether you read it
as a whodunit or as a portrait of the nation, LOST GROUND is utterly
compelling - exquisitely written, profound, hilarious and hauntingly
familiar.' -- Finuala Dowling, slipnet.co.za
'LOST GROUND
grows lush out of the simplest elements of outstanding story-making.
Believable story facts, entertaining dialogue, gentle tension that
builds gradually, an acute sense of time, place and character, and
humour, enliven this South African dorp story. Deceptively packaged as a
crime novel, but landing explosively in the heart as only literature
can, Heyns's wonderful book has a reach wide enough to hold even the
fussiest and most easily bored of readers.' -- Karin Schimke, The Star
