THE LOVE SONG OF ANDRÉ P BRINK

413pp., hardback, d.w., Johannesburg, 2019. 

Leon de Kock's biography of Afrikaner novelist André Brink is informed by Brink's journal-writing. Brink kept journals for 45 years - they have been unavailable until now.

"The biographer does not cower before Brink's status as a writer. The style of writing is robust, muscular and witty, maintaining just the right balance between familiarity and distance. This biography is an example of incisive literary scholarship by an experienced researcher." Louis Viljoen, Stellenbosch University, author of Die Mond Vol Vuur: beskouings oor die werk van Breyten Breytenbach

"This story is bound to have a lasting impact on how Brink is read and understood. It is a timely and excellent reminder of Brink's importance to South African literature." Gerrit Olivier, University of the Witwatersrand, author of NP van Wyk Louw: literatuur, filosofie, politiek

Also available in Afrikaans.

Translator, poet, novelist and scholar Leon de Kock's books include Losing the Plot: crime, reality and fiction in postapartheid writing, the novel Bad Sex, and three volumes of poetry. His translation of Marlene van Niekerk's Afrikaans novel Triomf into English earned him the South African Translators Institute award for outstanding translation. He is Professor Emeritus in English Studies at the University of Stellenbosch and a research associate at the University of Johannesburg.