EYE BROTHER HORN

371pp., paperback, El Paso, 2022

A novel set in 1870s South Africa. Moses, a Zulu baby discovered on a riverbank, and Daniel, the son of white missionaries, are raised as brothers on the Umzinyathi mission in Zululand.

“Unique and bold. This critique of the colonial enterprise is unlike any other you have read before. Through an ingenious use of African indigenous knowledge systems, Pitt tells the story of two brothers, connected by blood, who must not only navigate but also survive the delicate and often volatile ecosystem created by their histories and traditions. This is one of those wonderful stories that both break and mend the heart. Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author of The Theory of Flight and The History of Man

“This powerful political fable of two brothers, Moses and Daniel, bound together by the intimate violence of British colonialism in 19th century South Africa, is beautifully and urgently told. Bridget Pitt delineates the social and environmental destruction wrought by colonial expansion into Zululand, the wanton slaughter of wildlife by white hunters, and the racism of rigid-minded and punitive Christian evangelists. This compelling historical novel illuminates the present as much as it does the past.” Margie Orford, author of The Eye of the Beholder

South African author and environmental activist Bridget Pitt has published three novels, Unbroken Wing, The Unseen Leopard and Notes from the Lost Property Department and co-authored a memoir of the spiritual wilderness guide, Sicelo Mbatha, Black Lion: Alive in the wilderness.